


Until We Meet Again

by moonlight_river



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Character Death, Complete, Lord Of The Rings AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-23
Updated: 2016-07-29
Packaged: 2018-07-16 21:25:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 53,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7285303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonlight_river/pseuds/moonlight_river
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The War of the Ring has ended, and the elves are leaving Middle Earth, to go to the Undying Lands. There is one elf who would not be going with them, Lay. His beloved, Xiumin, has fallen at the battle of Helm's Deep, and Lay refuses to leave his grave. The other elves have accepted Lay's decision not to leave with them. All except one, Prince Sehun of House Vanyar.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Single Most Beautiful Night

 

Lay awoke in an unfamiliar bed, in an unfamiliar room, in the arms of an unfamiliar person. Blinking, Lay frowned at the ceiling of the four poster bed. The bed he was lying on was too soft, too plush, too spacious, and too warm. An arm was draped across him, heavy and weighing down on his chest. Lay looked down at the arm, and his gaze followed it, from the fingers curled around his side, to the crook of the elbow resting on his stomach, to the toned biceps and strong shoulders, to finally, the face of the man lying next to him.  He was sleeping peacefully, in the way one does when one is blessed with serene elvish dreams. The stranger was unfamiliar yet beautiful, with platinum blond hair, smooth fair skin, a chiselled jawline and high cheekbones. It took Lay a moment to remember who he was.

 

Prince Sehun. Of the Vanyar elves. From the Undying Lands across the sea.

 

Memories of the previous night came flooding back to him. Of hot drunken kisses, Prince Sehun pushing him against the wall, of hands all over him, of tumbling into the bed, the hurried undressing of robes that could not be taken off fast enough, of hands and lips all over his bare skin, of Prince Sehun entering him…

 

No.

 

No, no, no. What had he done?

 

Fully awake now, panic lanced through Lay. Only a thousand of years of coldly honed self-discipline kept him from jolting out of bed immediately. Instead, very slowly and deliberately, Lay gently pried the fingers off him, so that he could carefully lift the hand off his body, and slowly manoeuvre it back to Prince Sehun’s side. He placed the hand back down on the mattress, barely rocking the sleeping prince’s body as he did so. To Lay’s relief, the prince merely adjusted his body in his sleep, burrowing deeper into the covers using the hand that Lay was now free of.

 

Lay was a well-trained and highly-skilled elven guard, who had served for many years as sworn shield and bow of Rivendell, and was now also considered a war veteran, for having fought on the battlefield in the War of the Ring. Using all the skills he had in his repertoire, Lay slipped out of the bed without a sound, not even the rustling of sheets, his movements steady and swift. With similar stealth, he moved around the room, picking up his discarded articles of clothing and pulling them on noiselessly.

 

Instead of exiting the room via the door, where he might encounter elven guards on duty, Lay chose to climb down from the balcony. After he had swung himself silently over the balustrade, he allowed himself one last glance at Prince Sehun’s sleeping form, before letting his feet and fingers find support in the grooves of the intricate wood carvings in the column, stepping from one foothold to another until they lead him to ground level.

 

It was late into the night. Judging from the position of the moon and stars in the sky, sunrise was two hours away. Lay took relief in the earliness of the hour. Rivendell was dark and silent, save for the soothing sound of running water from the many waterfalls and rapids that flowed beside the streets and underneath the buildings and bridges.

 

Few roamed the streets, with the exception of the occasional guard on night duty. Lay kept to the shadows, blending in the dark, moving silently through the streets that were only illuminated by starlight, until he reached the outer gateways. There were guards on duty there, but Lay evaded them easily, identifying each guard’s blind spot, and darting from one blind spot to another in perfect silence, even as the guards constantly looked around, constantly changing the range of blind spots available to Lay. But Lay was one of the best, and in a matter of minutes, Lay had exited Rivendell without any of the guards noticing. Lay could have openly walked over the stone bridge, citizens of Rivendell were free to leave and enter the city at any time of the day. The guards on duty were meant to keep outsiders from entering the city, and not citizens from leaving or entering it. Lay himself was part of the elven guard, and his comrades would not have stopped him, but would have merely nodded at him in greeting, or perhaps engaged him in small talk, but the shame burning in his gut meant that he was not in the mood to speak to anyone.

 

In the cover of the forest, Lay picked his way without difficulty through the trees on the mountain pass. It was a path he had tread so many times that he could have walked it blindfolded. The woods were calm and quiet, and the Lay felt one with the heartbeat of the forest and the mountain around him. This soothed him, and he allowed the raging feelings he had kept confined behind an iron will of self-control to be released. Anger, shock, and outrage at himself for his lack of self-control flooded him, and after allowing the feelings to wash over him like a tidal wave, Lay let them go, allowing the turbulent feelings to dissipate into the night, to be swallowed up by the forest around him. Only remorse and disappointment at himself remained. And grief, but grief was not a new emotion arisen out of consequence of his drunken folly. Grief had been ever-present for Lay, ever since the battle of Helm’s Deep.

 

After trekking through the forested mountain for about an hour, Lay reached his destination. An empty clearing in the middle of the forest, where a patch of grass grew under the shade of an ancient oak tree, next to a clear sparkling brook that bubbled merrily under the starlight. Lay sank to his knees in front of the tree, in between its massive roots, tears pooling in his eyes as he reached out to touch the ground in front of him.

 

This place was not Xiumin’s grave, not really. Xiumin had been buried at Helm’s Deep, alongside the other elven warriors that had fallen in the battle when the elves had gone to the aid of men at the great fortress of Rohan, fighting alongside the Rohirrim against the orcs of Sauron, honouring the great alliance of elf and men one last time before the elves departed Middle Earth. But before he had laid his beloved’s body in the grave that he had dug himself, Lay had cut off a lock of his beloved’s hair, and brought it back with him to Rivendell after the battle of Helm’s Deep had been won and Lord Elrond had commanded the return of the troops. He had wrapped the lock of hair in Xiumin’s own handkerchief, the silk handkerchief sewn by Xiumin’s mother, which Xiumin had once carelessly lent to Lay when they were both young elvish children, when Lay had fallen down and scraped his knee, which Lay had deliberately forgotten to returned to his then best friend and playmate, even though Lay’s mother had washed it and instructed him to. At that time, he had kept his love for Xiumin hidden in his heart. It was only when they were young ellons, when Xiumin had first kissed Lay under the shade of this very oak tree, that Lay had been open about the long-time affections that he had for his childhood friend. It was also under this tree that Xiumin had asked Lay to marry him, to bond with him for eternity. And it was also under this tree, that Lay had buried the lock of Xiumin’s hair, wrapped in the silk handkerchief that Xiumin never cared very much about, but had been Lay’s childhood treasure.

 

Lay laid his hand palm down on the ground, exactly over the spot where Xiumin’s lock of hair lay, buried a hand’s span below.

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

Clutching his hand in the dirt, Lay let the tears come, his shoulders shaking with his sobs.

 

“I was drunk. I didn’t mean to betray you. Forgive me, my love, please forgive me.”

 

Lay had vowed, as he had held his beloved’s body, that he would stay true to Xiumin, till the end of days, that he would never take another lover. It had only been a year since Xiumin’s passing, and Lay had already failed him.

 

It took a while, but Lay’s sobs finally subsided. He sat himself down, underneath the tree, his back leaning against the gnarled trunk, his palm still resting over the spot where Xiumin’s lock of hair was buried. Lay would be doing the night shift today, so he was free to spend the rest of the day with Xiumin. Lay leaned back against the oak, and let his mind rest, his eyes remaining open as was his way whenever he slept out in the open. His dreams flew back to Xiumin, his smile, which highlighted his cheekbones, his laugh, the twinkle in his eyes and the beauty of his voice when he sang, high and lithe.

 

“My precious Lay.”

 

Lay blinked, his mind instantly alert. Lay leapt to his feet, and watched the newcomer enter the clearing, the clearing which was meant to be his special place with Xiumin.

 

The sun had just risen, and beams of sunlight shone through the foliage, reflecting off Prince Sehun’s platinum blond hair and his white robes, which were woven with intricate embroideries of silver thread. Prince Sehun moved with elegance, with the confidence of one who was brimming with elven magic, who knew the secrets of nature, and was one with it. Even now, Lay was struck by his beauty and grace, and in the sober morning, without the help of alcohol to make him bold, Lay was also fully aware of how common and drab he was compared to this high elven prince.

 

Lay respectfully sank to one knee, his hand over his chest, as was fitting when someone of his station greeted the prince of the high house of Vanyar.

 

“My prince.”

 

“There is no need to be so formal, my love.”

 

Lay inwardly cringed at the term of endearment, horrified that someone should address him as such here, of all places, where Lay’s memories of Xiumin lingered, where Lay could almost feel his presence. Sehun helped Lay to his feet. His touch was gentle and loving.

 

“I looked for you when I awoke with the rising of the sun, but you were not lying next to me, so I came looking for you. I am glad I found you.” Sehun looked around the clearing. “This is a beautiful place, full of life and peace.”

 

“How did you find me?”

 

Lay was sure no one had seen him exit Rivendell, and he had told no one of this place. No one should have been able to find him here.

 

Sehun cocked his head to side, as if surprised that one even had to ask such a question, as if locating someone in the middle of nowhere was an easy feat that everyone should be capable of.

 

“I did not sense your presence in Rivendell, so I crossed the stone bridge and asked the forest.”

 

“You asked the forest?” Lay had to keep his mouth from dropping open.

 

“Yes.” Sehun stated this matter-of-factly, as if anyone could do it. “I projected a semblance of your aura to the forest, and the trees, as well as a few other creatures recognised it, because you had only recently passed through, but I mostly followed the guidance of the trees, because I did not want to disturb any of the moving woodland creatures from their daily chores. I was guided from one tree to another, until I found you.”

 

Lay’s mind was reeling. Not only could Prince Sehun communicate with the creatures of the forest, he could also sense a person’s presence. There were thousands of elves in Rivendell, and Prince Sehun had automatically known that Lay had not been amongst them when he awoke. And had he also talked about projecting a person’s aura? Did this mean everyone had an aura of their own, which they projected unknowingly to the world? Not for the first time, Lay was struck by how advanced and enlightened the elves of Aman, the Undying Lands, were compared to the elves of Middle Earth.

 

In the First Age, when the stars were created over Middle Earth, the first elves, raised by Iluvatar, the Creator, awoke and walked the lands. The elves lived in Middle Earth, while the angels, known as the Ainur, lived across the sea, in the continent of Aman. But the first Dark Lord, Melkor, tormented the elves with evil spirits and even captured some of them, twisting them until they became orcs, so that he could bred them to form great armies. The Ainur were split into two groups, the higher order angels were known as Valar, and the lower level angels were known as Maiar. When the Valar saw the plight of the elves, they waged war against Melkor and captured him. After the War of Wrath, the Valar then invited the elves to live with them in Aman. Sehun’s ancestors had taken up the offer, and had left Middle Earth and sailed across the sea, where they had met the Valar and lived with them, benefiting from their direct tutelage. But Lay’s ancestors, distrustful of the Valar, decided to stay in Middle Earth.

 

Now that the War of the Ring was over, the Valar had once again invited all the elves in Middle Earth to go to Aman. There was nothing left in Middle Earth for the elves. Middle Earth was a fallen world, its magic slowly fading away. Elves, amongst all the races of Middle Earth, were the ones who were primarily tied to magic, and without it, there was no way they would be able survive. Thus, their leaders decided that the elves would take up the Valar’s offer and leave Middle Earth to go to the Undying Lands.

 

However, though the elves loved and trusted their leaders, and were obedient to them, the thought of leaving the only home they had ever known was a frightening notion to many. To set their minds at ease, the Valar sent a company of elves, led by Prince Sehun, youngest son of King Ingwe of House Vanyar, across the sea from the Undying Lands to Middle Earth. When Prince Sehun and his host debarked from their ship and walked amongst the elves of Middle Earth, the elves of Middle Earth were at once struck by their wisdom and magic. Prince Sehun and his fellow elves talked about the beauty of Aman, how it was a place of peace and plenty, and also about interacting with the Valar. Sehun showed them his ring, made for him by Aule the Smith, and talked of hunting together with Orome, Lord of the Forests, of sparring with Tulkas the Strong, but mostly he talked about his teacher, Nienna, Lady of Mercy, who tutored him and taught him all he knew. Prince Sehun, at only 900 years old, was much younger than either Lady Galadriel and Lord Elrond, long regarded as the wisest and greatest elves in Middle Earth, but it was quickly apparent that Prince Sehun outstripped even them in knowledge and magic. It was this, amongst all else, that convinced the elves of Middle Earth that departing for Aman was a wise choice, that only good things will await them in the Undying Lands, where they too would benefit from interacting directly with the Valar.

 

Departure from Middle Earth was a slow process, with the elves leaving in batches. The first batches had already left, and Prince Sehun was to remain with the elves of Middle Earth until the migration was complete, due to leave only on the last ship to sail for the Undying Lands. Ever since his arrival two months ago, Prince Sehun had been living in Rivendell. Lay had only seen him from afar, and had never interacted with him on a personal level, until last night. There had been a great feast in Rivendell, to celebrate Mettare, the last day of the year. Lay had been drinking with the other members of the elven guard in their quarters, but after some time, Lay desired solitude, so he had staggered off by himself, and was drinking alone in a quiet corner of the palace gardens, when Prince Sehun came and sat himself next to him. By that time, Lay had been too drunk to question why the Prince of Vanyar would want to seek him out, but Prince Sehun had brought more wine with him, so Lay was not averse to his company, and they had sat and drank under the stars together. Then, somewhere during the progress of the night, Prince Sehun had kissed him, and it had all gone downhill from there.

 

Prince Sehun had stopped admiring the nature around him, and now had his eye on Lay. Lay could tell from the besotted look in Prince Sehun’s eyes that he was not the only one reminiscing on the events of the night before, except that unlike Lay, Prince Sehun was not thinking back on it with horror. Prince Sehun took a step towards Lay. His heart racing, Lay quickly threw another question at Prince Sehun, to distract him.

 

“You said you awoke with the rising of the sun? But the sun only just rose, and Rivendell is an hour away. How is it possible that you are here?”

 

Sehun stopped in his tracks, once again regarding Lay with a vaguely puzzled expression. “Yes,” he mused thoughtfully, considering what Lay had just said. “I supposed it would have taken me one hour, if I had walked the normal way.”

 

The normal way? This sent Yixing’s mind reeling again, and by the time he realised that Sehun was right in front of him, it was already too late. Sehun already had his hand on the back of Lay’s neck, and was leaning down to meet his lips. Panic overtaking him, Lay threw away all semblance of the decorum that he was required to show to an elf of higher station than him. In quick succession, Lay turned his face away, slapped Sehun’s hand away from the back of his neck, and moved backwards, darting out of Sehun’s reach.

 

Breathing heavily and his heartbeat thumping in his ears, Lay chanced a glance at the prince. Sehun stood rooted to the ground. He looked stunned. Hurt. Confusion clouded his face.

 

“I am sorry. Last night… it was a mistake. I was drunk.”

 

Sehun stared at Lay. “Last night was the single, most beautiful night of my life. And you are telling me, that to you, it was merely a drunken mistake?”

 

“I beg your forgiveness, my prince.”

 

Lay let his gaze fall on the spot where Xiumin’s lock of hair was buried. His heart ached.

 

“You love another,” Sehun said slowly. His gaze also fell on the spot that Lay had been looking at. “He has fallen.”

 

With a jolt, Lay realised that Sehun must have read his mind. He had heard of High Elves, such as Lady Galadriel, having this power. Sehun must be capable of it as well. Lay knelt down at the base of the tree, placing his hand on the spot.

 

“He’s my bonded,” said Lay softly. “We pledged ourselves to each other under the name of Eru.”

 

Sehun knelt beside Lay, and put a hand on his shoulder. “He has fallen,” Sehun repeated gently. “What Illuvatar has bonded, no elf shall tear asunder. But if he has fallen, you are released from your bond. No one would judge you for taking another lover.”

 

“No,” said Lay, his voice quiet but firm. “I will remain true to Xiumin, till we meet again at the end of days. I will see him again then, when the spirits of the fallen elves are released from the Halls of Mandos, the Halls of the Dead, and I will beg his forgiveness for what I did last night. Xiumin has always been forgiving towards me. When we meet again, he will see that I have remained true to him throughout the ages. He will see how I grieved for him and longed for him every single day we were apart, how I bore my pain and my loneliness through the long years without him, and it is my hope that he will forgive me for that one drunken night.”

 

“You intend to remain alone until the end of Arda, the end of our universe? Even the Valar do not know the timing of Illuvatar. Who knows when that would happen? Three ages have passed since the creation of Arda and we are now in the Fourth Age. How many more ages would pass before Dagor Dagorath? We Elves are unlike Men. We do not die. You would spend every day and every night between then and now alone? My precious Lay, please do not torture yourself so.”

 

“Yes, it will be difficult. I would be suffering. But is it not the same for Xiumin? He too is alone in the Halls of Mandos, separated from me, and pining for me. I would stay true to him, just as I know he would stay true to me, if he were in my place.”

 

Sehun removed his hand from Lay’s shoulder, and got to his feet slowly.

 

“I am Prince Sehun, of the House Vanyar.”

 

His voice was barely a whisper, but it was filled with so much pain that Lay turned to look at him, tearing his eyes from the spot where Xiumin’s lock of hair was buried. Lay stood up and faced the prince. Sehun’s face was deathly pale.

 

“Songs have been sung far and wide throughout the land of Aman of my beauty. Elves and Ainur alike have fallen at my feet, begging for the privilege of a night with me. Always it had been I who decided whether to accept or reject their affections. And the morning after, it was always I who decided if there would be a second night. But you… you…”

 

Sehun’s voice trailed off, and his eyes shone with unshed tears.

 

“I am sorry.”

 

Lay did not know what else to say.

 

Without saying another word, Sehun turned to leave. Lay watched him go, his eyes fixed on Sehun’s retreating back as he disappeared into the depths of the forest.

 

 


	2. The Determined Decision

Lay spent the next one month trying to avoid Prince Sehun, if he could help it. Mostly it was not a difficult task, because an elf of his station would not have much opportunity to interact with the High Prince anyway. Sehun continued to mingle with the citizens of Rivendell, giving long talks in the town square about life in Aman, and the lands that the Valar had set aside for them. The citizens of Rivendell were also scheduled to meet him in small batches of 50 elves or so at a time, when they could raise any questions they had to him.

 

It was during such sessions that Lay would sometimes be deployed, to direct elves where to go, ensure smooth transition between the batches, and to stand as a ceremonial guard. During such times, Lay could not help but be in Sehun’s presence. Thankfully, Sehun never tried to talk to him again, though sometimes, Lay thought he could feel Sehun’s eyes lingering on him. Lay would then quickly manoeuvre himself away from the prince’s line of sight, moving to stand behind another elf or a pillar, or round a corner, so that none of the other elves would notice the prince looking at him. As far as Lay knew, no one knew of the night he had spent with Sehun, and he hoped that it would remain that way.

 

Roughly one month after the unfortunate night with Sehun, Lay was relieved to hear that Sehun would be leaving Rivendell, to travel to the other elf settlements in Middle Earth, Lothlórien and Mirkwood. On the day of Sehun’s departure, it so happened that Lay was deployed to go on the regular patrol of the lands surrounding Rivendell, a loop that went along the river Bruinen and through the foothills of the Misty Mountains, so he missed the prince taking his leave of Rivendell, which Lay was internally thankful for. He had been afraid that he would be deployed as one of the guards on the outer gateways leading to the stone bridge.  

 

After Sehun’s departure from Rivendell, life returned to normal for Lay. He did his elven guard duties dutifully, spent time with his parents, and whenever he had a pocket of free time, he went to the oak tree in the forest to spend time with Xiumin.

 

A couple of months passed, and then it was time for Lay’s parents to embark on the Straight Road, the way to Aman only known to the elves. Lay accompanied them to the Grey Havens, where their ship was awaiting. It was a sad goodbye, and Lay knew his parents would have wanted him to go with them, and that his decision grieved their hearts more than he could ever know, but there was naught he could do but hug them farewell, and let them know that his thoughts and prayers to Illuvator would always be with them. He watched their ship sail off into the horizon. Lay stood at the harbour for a long time, staring at the spot in the horizon where their ship had long disappeared. Finally, he turned to leave, making the long journey from the Grey Havens back to Rivendell alone.

 

The elven guards at the stone bridge greeted him warmly when he entered Rivendell, and that made him feel better, though his heart ached when he passed by his parents’ now deserted house. When he reached his own home, an empty house greeted him, and he put together a small meal for one.

 

Spring gave way to summer, and then to autumn. The migration of the Rivendell elves to the Undying Lands had progressed at a smooth and steady pace, and by this time, most of the inhabitants of Rivendell had already left. The last of the Rivendell elves to leave were Lord Elrond, several of his key advisors, and a company of the elven guard, including Lay.

 

The chilly winds heralded the coming of winter, and the cusp of winter brought Sehun back to Rivendell. Travelling with him were Aragorn, King of Gondor, and Arwen, his queen and the daughter of Lord Elrond of Rivendell. Lord Elrond, together with the remainder of the Rivendell elves, was due to leave Middle Earth in a few weeks’ time. Gandalf would be travelling with them. Sehun, Aragon and Arwen had come to Rivendell to spend Lord Elrond’s last few weeks on Middle Earth with him.

 

After the completion of the Rivendell migration, it would be the turn of the Lothlórien elves, followed by Mirkwood. To the best of Lay’s knowledge, after sending off Lord Elrond, Sehun would then return to Lothlórien, staying there until the migration of the Lothlórien elves was over.

 

Lay was standing guard, mostly for ceremonial purposes since it was unlikely that anyone would attack Rivendell, at Lord Elrond’s dining patio, when Sehun entered, walking side by side with Lord Elrond. King Aragon and Queen Arwen trailed behind them. Lay had wished he had gotten a different assignment for the day, but with so few of them left in Rivendell, it had been difficult to swap duties, and anyway, Lord Elrond had specifically requested Lay’s presence today.

 

It would be alright, Lay told himself. It had been three seasons since he and Sehun had last seen each other, and surely enough time had passed for it not to be awkward between them. Perhaps Sehun had spent the night with other elves, when he was in Lothlórien and Mirkwood.

 

Sehun and Lord Elrond were walking side by side, deep in conversation, when Sehun’s eyes fell on Lay. Sehun abruptly stopped in his tracks. He stared at Lay, as if he was drinking in the sight of Lay, as if every small detail of Lay’s appearance was a precious sight to him. Lay shifted his gaze, looking at the floor, trying not to flush with embarrassment.

 

“My prince?” Lord Elrond was standing a few steps ahead of Sehun, looking questioningly at him.

 

Sehun recovered quickly. He smiled at Lord Elrond, closed the gap between them, and continued their conversation as if nothing had interrupted them. The four of them sat down at the table, and just when they were starting to break bread, a guard announced the arrival of Gandalf the White.

 

Gandalf swept in, his long white robes billowing in the winter winds. He greeted Lord Elrond first, the both of them bowing to each other, then hugged King Aragon, and kissed the hand of Queen Arwen. To Lay’s surprise, instead of greeting Prince Sehun, the highest ranked of all the elves present, formally, he pulled Sehun into his arms and enveloped him in a big bear hug.

 

“Ah, little Sehunnie,” said Gandalf fondly, ruffling his hair. “Look at you. All grown up and running errands for the Valar now.”

 

“I’ve been grown up for a long time already! I’m not a child!” Sehun protested. He actually pouted at this, much to the amusement of everyone present. For the first time, Lay was struck by how young Prince Sehun actually was.

 

“We shall see about that, my younger brother-in-learning.” Lay suddenly understood why Gandalf was so familiar with Sehun. They were both pupils of the Vala Nienna. “I’ve set you quite a few self-study tasks before I left Aman for Middle Earth. Have you completed them?”

 

“Of course! I finished them all within a year of you leaving. They were easy.” Huffing, Sehun flipped back his fringe.

 

“Then let us see how much you have improved.”

 

Without warning, Gandalf’s staff came up, and the fires burning from the nearby braziers sprang up into the air, forming into the shape of a fiery eagle that swooped down at Sehun at full speed. Sehun raised his left hand, and the gem stone on the ring he wore on his middle finger shone like a beacon. The eagle seemed to hit an invisible barrier. It hovered in mid-air, beating its wings frantically, just half an arm’s length away from Sehun.

 

Sehun made a gesture with his right hand, and the waters from the nearby cascading waterfall formed into a water dragon. It charged into the fire eagle, dousing it into nothing-ness. Before Sehun could celebrate his victory, Gandalf had raised his staff again, and Sehun’s own water dragon turned on him, crashing over Sehun like a tidal wave, the fluid water losing the corporal form of the dragon and forming into a watery sphere that enclosed over Sehun, trapping him within.

 

Sehun’s ring shone with a sudden brilliant radiance, bright as the noon-day sun. Its light illuminated the entire open-air chamber, despite the refraction caused by the spinning water. The watery sphere exploded, sending sprays of water everywhere, drenching everyone present.

 

The minute the sphere broke, a ray of white light shining from the gemstone at the tip of Gandalf’s staff hurtled straight towards Sehun, but Sehun met it with an answering ray of sliver-grey light of his own, emanating from the gemstone on his ring.

 

The two rays of light battled for dominance, but neither managed to gain the upper hand. Eventually, Gandalf lowered his staff. Seeing this, Sehun lowered his hand too, and the two rays of light gradually petered out. With a wave of his staff, Gandalf dried them all instantly.

 

“Your ring… …” Gandalf closed the distance between himself and Sehun. Holding Sehun’s outstretched hand by the tips of his fingers, he examined the ring intensely.

 

“The _Kalahui_ , the Light of the Night,” said Sehun. “Forged by Aule, as a gift for our Lady Nienna. Its gemstone contains the light from one of the Simarils, before it had been set in the sky. Lady Nienna gave it to me, before I left Aman for Middle Earth. The ring has a twin, the _Kala-aara_ , the Light of the Dawn. I know I shouldn’t spoil the surprise, but Lady Nienna said she would give it to you when you return to Aman, as a reward for a task well done.”

 

The others congratulated Gandalf on his impending acquisition of a ring of power, and lauded the two pupils of Lady Nienna for their display of magic. They sat down and broke bread together, chatting about the on-goings in Gondor, Lothlórien and Mirkwood, while Lay and two other elven guards stood at attention at the edges of the chamber. In other times, there would have been musicians playing the flute or the harp while the lords ate, but with the migration of the Rivendell elves at its zenith, there weren’t any musicians left in Rivendell.

 

After the meal ended, Lord Elrond beckoned Lay forward.

 

“Aragon, my son, let me present to you Lay, son of Caelar, one of the best in my elven guard.”

 

“I know Lay.” King Aragon smiled warmly. “We have sparred together before.”

 

Aragon had grown up in Rivendell. He was orphaned at a young age, and Lord Elrond had taken him in. As part of his training, Aragon had been scheduled to spar with different members of the elven guard on a rotational basis. Aragon had beat Lay in sword fighting, but Lay had best him in archery. Xiumin had defeated Aragon in both the sword and the bow. But that had been many years ago. Aragon’s swordsmanship had improved since then. If Xiumin were still alive today, Lay figured that Aragon might best even Xiumin in a sword duel.

 

“Lay has decided not to leave for the Undying Lands. It pains my heart to leave him behind, but he would not be persuaded. I would loathe to leave him all alone in Rivendell. I know he would have a place in Lothlórien and Mirkwood, but in time, the elves there would leave Middle Earth as well, and he would be left alone again, so leaving Lay at either of these places would not be a permanent solution either.”

 

“What do you have in mind, my lord?”

 

“Lay wonders if he could join the rangers. The rangers now report to the King of Gondor, do they not? It would be your call if he would be allowed to join. If you have sparred with him before, then you know how good a warrior Lay is. He would be nothing but a blessing to the rangers.”

 

“Of course. It would be an honour for the rangers to have Lay.”

 

Lay beamed. He bowed to King Aragon to show his gratitude.

 

“What is the meaning of this?” Sehun sprung to his feet, slamming his palms on the table. His face was flushed with shock and anger.

 

Everyone turned to Sehun, surprised. It was considered beneath an elf to lose his temper, and furthermore, Sehun was a High Elf, meant to be the epitome of sophistication and elegance. Besides, nothing untoward had occurred. There was nothing that could have triggered Sehun’s outburst.

 

Sehun stalked around the table. One of his retainers, who had been standing guard in the background like Lay and his two comrades, came forward to put a placating hand on his prince, but Sehun side-stepped him, and came face to face with Lay.

 

“You can’t mean to stay behind in Middle Earth! Why would you choose to join this… rangers, when you can go to Aman?”

 

The fact that Sehun would address him directly in front of Lord Elrond, Lady Arwen and King Aragon, and Gandalf the White, showing them that there was more to their relationship than meets the eye, mortified Lay. Swallowing, he answered tentatively, “Sauron is defeated, but remnants of his minions remain. Orcs, trolls and balrogs. I can help defend the realms of Illuvator’s children if I stay and join the rangers.”

 

“I am sure King Aragon already has capable fighting men in the rangers. It does not have to be you.”

 

Lay remained silent at this. Sehun had a point. He had nothing to say to refute Sehun.

 

“Is this because of Xiumin?” Sehun’s voice was barely a whisper.

 

“I would not leave his grave,” Lay confirmed quietly. “Xiumin is buried at Helm’s Deep, and I would not leave him behind.”

 

“His body may be buried in Middle Earth, but his soul is in the Halls of Mandos, which is in Aman. If you go to Aman, even though you would leave his grave behind, you would be closer to where his soul is housed.”

 

“But I would not be able to go near the Halls of Mandos, would I not? Not even to see it from afar? Even if I go to Aman, the Halls of Mandos might as well be in a separate universe from me. But if I stay here, I can go to his grave often. I can lay flowers at the foot of his tombstone. I can sing to him, or play songs on the flute for him. I can tend to his grave, make sure no weeds ever mar his resting place.”

 

“Lay, I know that you are hurting from the loss of your bonded. But trust me, when I say Aman is a place of healing. You would not forget Xiumin, and he would always remain important to you, but you need not carry the pain of losing him in your heart all the time, like a raw knife wound to the heart. You would find peace there, and much more‒ enlightenment and hope and higher-learning. Only good things await you in Aman, this I promise you.”

 

“But I don’t want to experience all these things, not when I do not have Xiumin by my side. I do not want to receive all these blessings, when Xiumin never had a chance to.”

 

“You would diminish if you remain in Middle Earth. You would grow weary, tired of the world, tired of living. Every day would be torture. Lord Elrond’s ring protected Rivendell from the weariness, but with the destruction of the One Ring, Vilya lost its power too. We elves are immortal, but without protection from weariness, you would waste away, until you are no more.”

 

That was exactly what Lay hoped would come to pass. He had heard of elves dying of grief and weariness, and that was what Lay wanted for himself. Death would bring him to the Halls of Mandos, where he would be reunited with Xiumin once more. It would be a slow process, possibly taking a few centuries or more, but Lay just had to be patient. This was Lay’s plan for himself. However, Lay knew better than to voice this out loud. His parents or Lord Elrond would never have agreed to Lay staying if they knew this.

 

“No.” Sehun was shaking his head, his eyes bright with unshed tears, and Lay knew Sehun must have read his mind. “No, Lay, please, no. Do not do this to yourself. Do not torture yourself so.”

 

He raised his hand towards Lay. Lay was horrified, but was too afraid to move, to show disrespect to the Prince of Vanyar by flinching away from his touch. Lay stood still, dreading the touch of Sehun’s hand on his skin, but Lay need not have worried. Sehun’s hand stopped just shy of touching Lay’s face, before Sehun slowly lowered his hand.

 

“My precious Lay, do you really have nothing to live for?”

 

When Xiumin fell, Lay almost took up his own sword to end his own life. He stayed his hand only because not treasuring the life given to you by Illuvator was considered a great transgression. While killing himself now would send him to Halls of Mandos, where he would be immediately reunited with Xiumin, their time together would not be permanent. When the end of the world came, Lay would be judged unworthy in the Halls of Mandos for his suicide, while Xiumin would be judged worthy. When Illuvator sang the new song to create the new world, Xiumin would have a part in it, and Lay would not. When that happened, Lay and Xiumin would be separated for all eternity. Only the thought of that had stayed his blade.

 

Since suicide was not an option, he would have to find death by another means. So if Sehun really wanted an answer, the answer was yes, he had nothing to live for. In fact, death could not come sooner to him. Though Lay said none of this out loud, he knew that Sehun was reading every single thought that ran through his mind.

 

“So you have decided,” Sehun said bitterly. “And there is naught anyone can say to change your mind.”

 

Lay lowered his head in apology.

 

 _I’m sorry_ , he thought, hoping the prince would read his mind, hoping the prince would understand that he never meant to hurt him.

 

“My lords, my lady, please excuse me.”

 

With a bow, Sehun turned on his heels and swept out of the patio, his retainers trailing behind him, leaving Lay standing awkwardly in front of the table, all eyes on him.

 

“I hadn’t realised that you and Prince Sehun were familiar with each other,” Lord Elrond said, raising an eyebrow.

 

Lay flushed, and lowered his head, but did not say anything.

 

“Sehun is right, you know,” Gandalf said. “Being able to go to Aman is a rare privilege. It is not an offer that you should throw away lightly.”

 

“I know. I am beyond honoured to have been granted passage to the Undying Lands. But my mind is made up. I will stay.”

 

“So be it,” said King Aragorn kindly. “Would you prefer to join the Rangers of the North, or the Rangers of the South?”

 

“The Rangers of the South, if you please.” The domains the Rangers of the South patrolled included Helm’s Deep.

 

“As you wish. I have summoned Faramir back to serve me at Minas Tirith, and the Rangers of the South are now led by a man called Suho. He would be happy to have a fine warrior like you joining his ranks.”

 

“Thank you.” Lay bowed once more to show his appreciation, and was relieved when Lord Elrond dismissed him for the day. The encounter with Sehun had drained him emotionally, and Lay went to the oak tree in the forest, and only returned to Rivendell the next day.

 

A few weeks later, it was time for the last of the Rivendell elves to leave. Lay went with them to the Grey Havens. He helped his comrades load their luggage on board the ship, until at last, there was nothing left to bring aboard, nothing left to pack in its proper place on board the ship. There were a hundred elven guards on the ship, and Lay knew each and every one of them. He had spent centuries with them, standing guard and going on patrols together, training and fighting alongside in battle. Each and every one of them hugged Lay goodbye, exchanging well-wishes and promises to pray for each other. It took a long time for Lay to bid each one farewell, but eventually, the time came when that ended too.

 

There was nothing left to do but for Lay to disembark the ship, to step back onto the dock alone, while his comrades watched from on board the ship.

 

Lord Elrond was standing there, together with King Aragon and Queen Arwen. Sehun was there too, with his retainers. Lay sank to one knee before Lord Elrond, his hand over his heart, his last show of respect to his lord. Lord Elrond helped Lay to his feet, and to Lay’s surprise, he enveloped Lay in a hug.

 

Lay had to blink back tears. Lay was a Silvan elf, or wood elf, whose ancestors had rejected the Valar’s offer to go to Aman. In elven hierarchy, that put him at the bottom of the social ladder. Before Lay had been born, Lay’s parents stayed with a handful of other Silvan elves on the fringes of Fangorn forest, far from any of the great elven cities of the time, living a hand-to-mouth existence based on whatever sustenance they could gather from the forest.

 

But the wars had displaced them from their home. Orcs hunted them down, despite them not having played any part in the war. To them, an elf was an elf, and in their books, the only good elf was a dead one. Lay’s parents and a handful of other survivors had been running away from a band of orcs when they encountered Lord Elrond’s army marching towards Mordor, and Lord Elrond had taken them in. Lay’s father had served in Lord Elrond’s army ever since. When the War of the Last Alliance was over, Lay’s parents had then followed Lord Elrond when he settled his people in Rivendell, and Lay had been born there. As a result, Lay was one of the few Silvan elves in Rivendell. All the other elves were either of Noldor or Sindarin descent, and that meant they were all higher than Lay in social status. But Lord Elrond had always been kind to him, and treated him as if he were an equal to a Noldor elf.

 

Lord Elrond said his farewell to his daughter and son-in-law. Lay could tell it was with great sorrow that Lord Elrond was leaving his daughter behind. Lay was too caught up with the sad goodbye between Arwen and Elrond, so it was a while before he realised that standing not too far away from him, Sehun’s retainers were bidding their own reluctant goodbyes to their prince. Much like what transpired between Lay and Lord Elrond, they were kneeling to him with their hands over their hearts. Sehun helped them to their feet before hugging them goodbye, reassuring them that he would be well, and gently turned down their offers and pleas for them to be allowed to stay with him. Lay wondered what was going on.

 

Sehun finally spared Lay a glance after he had said his last farewell. He must have known that Lay had been staring at him for some time.

 

“I’ll be staying in Middle Earth, even after the migration of the elves is complete.” Sehun said to Lay casually, as if he were commenting on the weather. “When we sailed from Aman, the orders from my parents to my retainers were that they were to serve me for the duration of the elven migration. Staying on in Middle Earth with me after that was not part of the plan for them. Since I would be staying on in Middle Earth without them in any case, I might as well allow them to return to Aman earlier. They have family in Aman who are anxiously awaiting their return.”

 

Lay was flabbergasted.

 

“You are staying on in Middle Earth? But… you can’t!”

 

“Lay, be careful how you address Prince Sehun.”

 

Lord Elrond voice was gentle as always, but it was a chastisement none the less. Lay bowed his head in apology.

 

Sehun raised an eyebrow.

 

“I think you will find that I can. I have spoken with my parents and with Lady Nienna through the Mirror of Galadriel, and they have all given me leave to stay in Middle Earth. I don’t suppose you think you can overrule their decision?”

 

Lay’s mind was reeling again.

 

“The Mirror of Galadriel is in Lothlórien. But you’ve been in Rivendell for the past few weeks, you couldn’t have possibly… ”

 

“I hope you aren’t doubting my ability to travel from Rivendell to Lothlórien and back within a single night.”

 

“Of course not, my prince.”

 

Lay quickly concurred, though his mind was questioning that very fact. How was that even possible?

 

“But surely, my prince…. your parents, the Lady Nienna… they would be anxious for your return to Aman? Surely it would upset them if you stayed?”

 

Sehun shrugged nonchalantly.

 

“I may be a prince of the House Vanyar, but I am the youngest one. My parents have other sons beside me. My second brother, Lu Han, inspires love from all who meet him. He is well-beloved and highly-favoured amongst our people. With him around, House Vanyar need never worry that we do not have the heart of the people. My oldest brother, Kris, wisest and most powerful amongst the three of us, is the pride and joy of House Vanyar, the favourite of the Valar, and the last child to have been born under the light of the Two Trees. With my brothers around, House Vanyar would fare well, even without me around. I am free to pursue my own paths. Such is always the privilege of the youngest child.”

 

“Prince Sehun has requested to join the rangers as well,” King Aragorn told Lay gently.

 

“What?!”

 

Shock caused Lay to once again throw decorum to the wind, despite Lord Elrond’s recent warning.

 

Sehun smiled sweetly at Lay.

 

“Sauron is defeated, but remnants of his minions remain. Orcs, trolls and balrogs. I need to do my part to keep them at bay.”

 

Sehun’s voice was light and casual. His face was almost impassive, except for the corners of his mouth, which twitched upwards slightly.

 

The ability of speech seemed to have left Lay. He stood rooted to the spot, staring at the elven prince.

 

“Relax,” said Sehun, after a while. Instead of faked nonchalance, Sehun now looked genuinely sad. The sea breeze blew into the harbour, ruffling Lay’s hair and blowing them into his eyes. Sehun reached out and smoothed down Lay’s fringe as he spoke. “You don’t have to worry so much. I won’t be joining the rangers just yet. I’ll be continuing to oversee the elven migration first. It would be a long time before I would join your ranks in the rangers. And when that time comes, if you are still uncomfortable with being around me, I could join the Rangers of the North instead.”

 

Sehun had finished patting Lay’s hair down into neatness, and had now proceeded to smooth down the lapels of his jacket, which had also been messed up by the wind. When Prince Sehun was satisfied with the neatness of Lay’s appearance, he turned his attention back to the ship. Sehun said his own goodbyes to Gandalf, and Gandalf and Lord Elrond boarded the ship. The ship cast off, and Sehun and Lay stood on the dock side by side. Together with King Aragon and Queen Arwen, they watched the ship sail out of the harbour and into the horizon.

 

They stood there for a long time, even after the ship had long gone. Arwen had tears flowing down her cheeks, which Aragon gently wiped away. Eventually, Aragon and Arwen turned to leave, their retainers trailing behind them. Lay turned to follow them as well, but Sehun laid a hand on his arm. Aragon threw a questioning backward glance at Sehun, but Sehun waved him on, a gesture to request that Aragon and his entourage go ahead to get the horses saddled first, and that Sehun and Lay would catch up later.

  
Sehun waited for all of Aragon’s entourage to leave the docks first, before he started speaking again.

 

“My reason for staying isn’t entirely because of you, so you don’t have to feel so burdened.”

 

“May I ask your reason for staying, my prince?”

 

“The moment I disembarked the ship that brought me here from Aman, right here at this dock, I could already feel it‒ the presence of an ancient evil. Though I could sense its presence, I could not perceive its identity or its hiding place, even after long hours of meditation and shadow walking in the Unseen Realm. It was only until I was in Lothlórien, when Lady Galadriel lent me the use of her mirror, that I was able to pry out its true identity… … the Ungoliant.”

 

The Ungoliant was a primordial being that took the shape of a giant spider. It was the Ungoliant that had destroyed the Two Trees of Light in Aman, at the behest of her then ally, Melkor, the first Dark Lord.

 

Lay could not believe it.

 

“But… … the Ungoliant is dead! It is said that she devoured herself, to sate her own eternal hunger.”

 

“That is what she would have the world believe. She has hidden in the shadows, watching and waiting. She was once allies with Melkor, but they turned on each other to fight over the possession of the Silmarils. From then on, she had no love for him, and watched in the shadows as he was overpowered and banished by the Valar. When his second-in-command, Sauron, rose as the next dark lord, she also chose to stay hidden, to wait out the outcome of the war before making her next move.

 

Now that the War of the Ring is won, the elves are slowly leaving Middle Earth. Lord Elrond has just left, and Lady Galadriel will leave soon. It does not fall on either of them to stand up to the Ungoliant.

 

Out of the Istari, Gandalf the White could have stood up to her, but his work on Middle Earth is done. Radagast the Brown’s calling is to care for Yavanna’s creations‒ the plants, birds and beasts of the forest, and he would not participate in any wars. The two Blue Wizards are in the east, working upon secret missions of their own, of which even Lady Nienna would not tell me, so hope cannot be placed in either of them to stop the Ungoliant either.

 

Her long wait is over and her time has come. Melkor is banished and Sauron is vanquished. She has no rival now amongst the forces of the dark. Of all those on the side of Illuvator, those who can stand up to her are either leaving Middle Earth or would not participate in the fight against her.

 

Who else can stand in her way now? Who else has the strength to challenge her? Who else, but me?”

 

Lay felt a surge of respect for Sehun. Middle Earth was not his home. What concern of his was it that the men, dwarfs and hobbits of Middle Earth would suffer under the dominion of the Ungoliant? The Valar only tasked him to oversee the migration of the elves. He could have returned to Aman immediately after that, and left Middle Earth to its fate. He did not have to stay.

 

“Do you know her hiding place?”

 

“No,” said Sehun, a frown marring the perfect features of his face. “I saw her form in the Mirror of Galadriel, and was about to push further, to force the revelation of her location, but she sensed my presence, and broke the connection. I made many more subsequent tries on the mirror, but each time, only darkness greeted me. She has set up a magical wall around herself, one that I am unable to penetrate.”

 

“How would you hunt her down? What are your plans?”

 

“That was why I wanted to join the rangers. After I heard of you wanting to join them, I asked King Aragon what they were. When he explained their duties to me, I realised that joining them would be the best course of action, because they are on the frontlines guarding the realms of men. If there were a flurry of dark activity, they would be the first to know. I would be joining them once the migration of the elves finishes. I believe that when that time comes, the Ungoliant will send forth her children, armies of giant spiders as the first wave of her attack. If I were a ranger, I would be on the front lines to deal with them. The magic of her children would not be as great as hers, and I believe that once I confront them, I would be able to invade their minds and pry her secrets from them. They would lead me to her, and I will hunt her down.”

 

Sehun looked out into the sea, watching the setting sun casting orangey-red rays on the watery surface. Lay stood next to him silently, digesting all the information he had just received. Eventually, it was Sehun who broke the silence again.

 

“You were right. About my parents being unwilling to let me stay in Middle Earth. But my teacher, Lady Nienna, seemed pleased with my decision, and my parents deferred to her. I think my choosing to stay was what she had hoped for all along.

 

My impending confrontation with the Ungoliant, I think that was why she picked me as her pupil when I was a mere young ellon, was why she asked me to go to Middle Earth to oversee the migration of the elves in the first place. She knew that with my powers, I would be able to sense the presence of the Ungoliant. I think it was her hope that I would feel a burden for the Children of Illuvator, and choose to stay and fight.

 

I think she did not tell me of her intentions upfront, because she wanted to give me the right to choose, so that I would stay in Middle Earth out of my own accord, and not by her command.”

 

Sehun held out his left hand. The white gem stone on his ring of power glittered in the rays of the evening sun.

 

“I think that was why she gave me the _Kalahui_ , even though unlike Gandalf, I had not done any notable deeds that would earn the privilege to wear a ring of such power. She gave me the _Kalahui_ as an advanced reward, to aid me in the task ahead.”

 

 “I’m sure the Lady Nienna’s faith in you is well placed, my prince.”

 

Sehun looked sideways at Lay. He seemed to be contemplating something, before making a decision.

 

“Lay, even now, I wish you would go to the Undying Lands, for your own sake. You can still change your mind. You can still get on any of the upcoming ships, with the Lothlórien elves, or those of Mirkwood.”

 

Lay remained silent. He had already said all he had wanted to say on this matter.

 

“But if you are adamant to stay, then it would mean a lot to me if you were to fight by my side when I face the Ungoliant.”

 

There was no hesitance on Lay’s part. He dropped to one knee before Sehun, right hand over his heart. The setting sun shone brightly in the sky, painting the world in hues of red, gold and orange, creating a path of wavy golden light on the surface of the sea leading out from it, towards Lay and Sehun. Lay and Sehun both cast long shadows in the zenith of the evening light. Lay’s voice rang loud and clear in the empty docks.

 

“I pledge my allegiance to you, my prince. My sword and my bow are yours.”

 


	3. The New Order

After sending off Lord Elrond and the last of the Rivendell elves, Lay travelled with King Aragorn and Queen Arwen to Minas Tirith, the capital city of King Aragorn’s realm of Gondor. Sehun travelled with them. By virtue of his rank, Sehun should be riding at the head of their party, next to King Aragon and Queen Arwen. Indeed, that was how they started out every morning, but as the day progressed, Sehun often trailed behind until he ended up riding next to Lay, his horse matching Lay’s stride for stride. It felt comfortable, riding next to Prince Sehun, a fellow elf in a company of men. Sehun did not speak much, seemingly lost in his own thoughts. However, Lay sensed that Sehun always seemed to keep him in his peripheral vision, never truly letting Lay out of his sight.

 

Their travel down the North-South Road took them past Rohan’s great mountain fortress, Helm’s Deep. As they approached, Lay’s heartbeat at once grew both faster and heavier at the same time. When they reached the citadel, Sehun requested that they rest at Helm’s Deep for a day, citing fatigue from the road. King Aragorn immediately acquiesced, unable to refuse a request from the High Elven Prince. The guards at Helm’s Deep welcomed them warmly, remembering the part King Aragorn played in the defence of the fortress when it was under siege by orcs.

 

Despite Prince Sehun’s claim to need rest, Lay could tell from Sehun’s sprightly steps that their time on the road had not wearied him at all, and that Sehun had only requested that they rest at Helm’s Deep for his sake. Lay felt a rush of gratitude towards Sehun, which he did not know how to put into words, but thought that the elven prince understood anyway.

 

While King Aragorn and his entourage rested and broke bread at Helm’s Deep, Lay exited the stone fortress to visit Xiumin’s grave. He spent the day there in solitude, just sitting at the foot of Xiumin’s grave stone and playing the flute for him. Being there brought Lay a measure of peace. It made him feel as if Xiumin was not so very far removed from him after all.

 

Lay returned to Helm’s Deep only at the dawn of the next morning, when their company was due to depart. The rest of the company were already in the front courtyard, saddling their horses. Lay quickly made his way to his own horse, only to find her already saddled and packed for the journey ahead. Sehun was there, holding her reins and petting her mane, and… conversing with her? At least that was how it looked like, with Sehun looking the mare in the eye and making the same grunting and neighing noises that the mare was making. The other men in their company were giving Sehun decidedly odd looks. Lay ignored them and stepped up next to his mare.

 

“She likes you,” Sehun stated by way of greeting, still looking at the mare, and not at Lay, as he spoke, petting the horse on the back of her neck, smoothing down her mane. “She thinks you are good rider, decisive and clear in your directions to her, but also gentle and respectful at the same time.”

 

“Oh, does she? Erm… I like her too,” said Lay lamely. Sehun seemed completely oblivious to the fact that all the men in the courtyard were now openly staring at them with their mouths agape, shocked at Sehun’s verbal confirmation that he had indeed just conversed with a horse.

 

Sehun turned from the mare to Lay. His eyes fell on Lay’s for a moment, before they were drawn to the single small white flower Lay had tucked into his breast pocket. _Uilos_ , or “Snow White”, was the name of the flower, and it covered Xiumin’s grave. Sehun made no comment, though he unconsciously started biting on his lower lip. He gave Lay’s mare one last pat, then wordlessly turned to make his way to the front of the train, where King Aragorn and Queen Arwen were. A soft whistle from Sehun, and his white stallion trotted out to meet him on his own accord, needing no groomsman to lead him. Lay turned back to his own mare. He gave her a quick hug around her neck, glad to know that she liked him, and quickly mounted her, following the Gondor knights out of the gates and onto the road.

 

They travelled on the road at full gallop towards Minas Tirith. Lay had thought that Sehun would leave them after Helm’s Deep, and swing north towards Lothlorien, but he travelled with them all the way to Minas Tirith. Lay was glad of Sehun’s presence next to him when they galloped into sight of the towering white stone city, so different from the wooden structures and waterfalls of Rivendell. It was majestic, and Lay was glad to have travelled here, to behold this sight for himself.

 

They galloped into the city, then dismounted once they crossed the gates upon King Aragorn’s orders, so that the people on the roads would not be disturbed by men on horseback. They made their way up the winding stone streets on foot, leading their horses by the reins. The first thing that struck Lay as they made their way up to the citadel was how crowded and noisy it was. Every inch of the city seemed to be packed shoulder to shoulder with people, and King Aragorn’s sudden appearance on the streets meant that the crowds swarmed towards him, all clamouring to greet their beloved king as he passed, making the going even harder. Just leading his mare through the throngs without breaking away from the company of knights was hard. Lay was glad when they reached the citadel at last. Stable hands came forward to take their horses from them, and Lay followed the Gondor knights to their resting quarters, while Sehun was brought inside the castle by King Aragon and Queen Arwen.  

 

After many days on the road, Lay was glad to be able to have a warm meal, a thorough bath and a soft bed. Before he slept, he removed the single bloom of _Ulios_ from the pocket of his tunic. It was dusty from the road and had browned around the edges. Lay knew it would not last very much longer, but he found a teacup and filled it with a little water, and put the flower in it anyway, hoping to prolong the bloom for a little while longer. He placed the teacup on the floor next to his bed, near the wall, and settled down to sleep.

 

Weary from the road, he fell asleep almost immediately after his head hit the pillow. His last fleeting thought was of Sehun, wondering if the elven prince found the city of men just as strange as exciting as Lay did. While Lay slept in the soldiers’ quarters, with nine other men in the same room as him, Lay had no doubt Sehun was put up in one of the lavish guest rooms in the castle. Lay wondered if Sehun was comfortable alone there, or if he thought of Lay, the only other elf, besides Queen Arwen, in the city. Sehun could sense Lay’s presence when they were in Rivendell. Maybe Sehun could sense his presence here too, in Minas Tirith? Lay wondered about that. There were so many more people here in Minas Tirith than in Rivendell, and Lay wondered if that would affect Sehun’s ability to sense a person’s presence. Then sleep overtook him, and his dreams flew back to Xiumin, as they did every night.

 

Lay awoke the next day, feeling well rested. He followed the other men in his sleeping quarters to the solder’s dining hall, where they lined up to collect the breakfast that men on duty doled out to them. Breakfast consisted of warm soup and a hunk of bread. After they had finished eating, the other men left to carry out their various tasks for the day, and Lay found himself with nothing to do. It seemed strange to have no duties scheduled for the day, the feeling of having ample free time something he was unused to. He decided to spend the rest of the day exploring the city.

 

Lay liked the hustle and bustle of the city. It was a new experience. The strange buildings and the strange smells, and people all over the place, at every corner he turned into. He bought a small loaf bread flavoured with strange toppings from a vendor at the market. Finding a solitary tree growing out of the flagstones in a lower courtyard. Lay swung himself up the tree, settling down in between its branches. Underneath him, the people of Gondor streamed past, their pace hurried and purposeful. Lay chewed the bread slowly, enjoying the burst of strange flavours on his tongue.

 

After he finished the bread, he took out the white flower from his front pocket. It looked decidedly worse for the wear. Lay knew it was time to let it go. Slowly, he separated his index finger from his thumb, and the flower stalk slipped through his fingers, the four petals of the flower twirling like the blades of a windmill as the flower spiralled downwards towards the ground, and landed at the feet of a person who had just been walking underneath the tree.

 

The man stopped in his tracks. After hesitating for a fraction of a moment, he stooped down and picked up the flower. From his vantage point, Lay could not see the man’s face, only the top of his platinum blond hair and his broad shoulders. Even then, Lay instantly recognised him. He quickly slipped out from the branches of the tree, landing elegantly and soundlessly in front of Sehun.

 

“My prince,” Lay said in greeting, bowing his head.

 

Sehun was studying the withered flower. Slowly, he brought the dying flowers to his lips, brushing his lips lightly against the centre of the flower. The ring Sehun was wearing glittered brightly in the afternoon sun, and for an instant, the flower seemed to glow as well. Sehun lowered the flower from his lips and held it out to Lay. Lay’s eyes widened. The flower was once again pure white and fresh, just as it had been when Lay had plucked it from the top of Xiumin’s burial mound, all signs of decay gone.

 

“It will stay like this, till the end of time,” said Sehun.

 

“Thank you.” Lay was in awe. He quietly tucked it back into his front pocket. Sehun looked pleased that Lay accepted the gift.

 

“King Aragorn requests your presence in the throne room. The captain of the Rangers of the South has answered his summons, and King Aragorn wishes to introduce you to him now.”

 

“Oh,” said Lay, slightly abashed that the High Elven Prince was the one to come out to fetch him back to the citadel. “I am sorry to have troubled you, my prince.” Lay wondered why King Aragorn didn’t send one of his servants to come find him instead.

 

“My precious Lay, it was no trouble at all.”

 

Lay blushed furiously, and was glad when Sehun spoke no further as they picked their way through the crowded streets. When they entered the throne room, they found King Aragon standing at the base of the throne, instead of being seated on it, conversing with a man in ranger garb. Lay realised that the man must be Suho. As they walked in, Suho turned to beam at Lay, and Lay liked him instantly. He had an open and sincere face, and Lay knew at once that he was loyal, brave, self-disciplined, and took care of those in his charge.

 

This was it, Lay thought. His new superior in the new order he would belong to. After spending his whole life in Rivendell, this change was frankly, scary. But with both Suho and King Aragon smiling reassuringly at him, and Sehun next to him, Lay thought he could do this.


	4. The Rescue

Lay waited in the shadows, hidden from sight by the gnarled buttress roots of the sprawling tree above him. Lay was absolutely still. His chest rose and fell with his breathing, but his rhythm matched perfectly with that of the nature surrounding him, blending him in. Lay was one with the creations of Yavanna, but those that he hunted were not. Their breathing was ragged and harsh, their movements rough and destructive, their intentions greedy and all-consuming. Their presence on Arda was an abomination. They were never meant to have been.

 

Lay waited, watching for the signal. It came in the form of Suho’s battle cry piercing the silence of the forest. In an instant, Lay leapt out from behind the tree, landing face to face in front of an orc, his blade already embedded in the orc’s chest. Around him, the other rangers were doing the same, leaping out from hiding, with battle cries of their own to answer Suho’s.

 

Lay pulled out the blade, and the orc crumpled to the ground. Using the falling orc as a stepping stone, Lay leapt onto the lower branch of a nearby tree. From the high vantage point, Lay withdrew an arrow from the quiver strapped to his back, his bow already in his hand. In double time, Lay had already notched the arrow, and sent it flying. The arrow hit an orc in the back. The orc had his arm raised, about to bring down his axe on Baekhyun, who had been too busy duelling the orc in front of him to notice the orc who behind him. Baekhyun only realised how close he had been to receiving a fatal wound when he heard the orc behind him cry out as Lay’s arrow pierced him through the heart. Baekhyun gave Lay a grateful look, which Lay acknowledged through the fleeting meeting of their eyes.

 

Then Lay’s gaze was drawn to Kai, who was fighting two orcs at the same time. As Kai slashed one of them in the neck, Lay’s arrow brought down the other, protecting Kai from receiving a wound in his midriff, which he had exposed in favour of landing the decisive blow.

 

Lay shot arrow after arrow, covering his fellow rangers whenever he spotted a need, his movements fluid with well-practised ease.

 

“They’re retreating!” Chen yelled out.

 

Indeed, the orcs were fleeing back into the deeps of the forest. Their retreat was panicked, haphazard. Scattered and vulnerable, such retreats were always easy pickings for the victors.

 

“After them!” Suho commanded.

 

This band of orcs had been harassing the villages in the outlying territories of Gondor for some time, and the rangers had been tracking them for weeks now. If they let any of the orcs go, they would simply lie low for a while. The rangers would have to move on eventually, needing to protect the other territories as well, and the orcs would then come out again to wreck havoc on the countryside. The rangers needed to eliminate all of them thoroughly, right now.

 

They took off after the orcs, pausing to shoot them down whenever they could get a clear aim. The chase led them deeper and deeper into the forest. The trees were thicker now, the forest canopy so thick that sunlight hardly passed through to the forest floor.

 

Something was wrong. Lay felt it under his skin.

 

Quiet. It was too quiet. The forest was denser here. Life here should be denser too. More birds, more squirrels, more insects. But there was nothing. Aside from the noise made by their quarries, and the swift and light movements of the rangers, there was nothing.

 

Then Lay heard it. A slight rustling. A soft clicking.

 

“Above us!” Lay screamed.

 

His cry only managed to give the rangers a split-second warning. Above them, giant spiders were descending rapidly upon thick silken threads, their front pincers clicking.

 

Lay shot an arrow at the nearest one, the arrow piercing the maw of the spider. The spider let out a high-pitched ear-piercing screech. In his peripheral vision, he saw a spider bodily crushing Kyungsoo onto the ground. Lay spun to help him. He sent another arrow flying. It hit the spider in the abdomen. The spider barely noticed it.

 

Lay notched another arrow, but before he could release it, a heavy hairy leg knocked him sideways, sending sprawling onto the ground. Almost instantly, the spider was already upon him, a leg the size of a small tree trunk landing on his chest, pinning him to the ground. Lay winced. A few of his ribs gave way under the weight of the towering leg, and broke. Lay writhed, desperately trying to reach for the sword behind his back, pinned in between his own body and the ground beneath him, but the leg on top of him was an unforgiving weight that allowed Lay no room to manoeuvre.

 

Suddenly, the weight on top of him shifted off as another ranger slashed his sword into the leg. Dark black blood spurted out, spraying Lay in the face. The spider gave an inhuman cry, and it was forced to lift its leg off Lay. Lay scrambled to his feet to stand behind Chanyeol, whose sword was already in mid-swing to meet the spider’s pincer head on. Despite the excruciating pain in his side, Lay drew his sword and fought the spider alongside Chanyeol.

 

Out of the corner of his eye, Lay saw that the orcs had stopped fleeing, and were now fighting alongside the giant spiders. A trap, Lay realised bitterly. The orcs had deliberately led them here.

 

The giant spider scored a direct hit at Chanyeol, knocking him off his feet. As Chanyeol lay on the ground, winded, the spider aimed a gigantic leg right at Chanyeol’s head. Chanyeol’s skull would be cracked open if the spider’s foot found its target. Lay immediately leapt forward, both hands wrapped around the hilt of his sword as he drove the blade directly into the leg of the spider with every ounce of his strength, despite knowing that such a move would leave his entire back open to attack by the spider’s fangs.

 

The sword pierced into the leg of the spider, the entire blade embedded in up to the hilt, effectively halting the spider’s attack upon Chanyeol. At the same moment, Lay felt its fangs sink into his shoulder from the back. Lay gasped, falling to his knees, his legs suddenly unable to support his weight as the poison of the spider’s bite spread through his bloodstream, paralysing his body. Lay fought with his rapidly slowing consciousness, but was unable to do much except to lie on his back, struggling to keep his eyes open.

 

Beside him, Chanyeol had fallen as well. He too had been bitten. The giant spider had him in between its front legs, holding him up as he spun the immobile Chanyeol within a grotesque cocoon of spider silk. Lay knew that once the spider was done with Chanyeol, it would be his turn next.

 

As the spider was busy spinning, Lay suddenly saw them. A couple of small birds, each the size of the palm of his hand, flitting about agitatedly in front of Lay, as if distressed by Lay’s predicament. Their brilliant blue and yellow plumage made them stand out against the dark shadowy forest, and it was a wonder that Lay had not spotted them before. Indeed, no one else seemed to take any notice of them all. The fight between the rangers, giant spiders and orcs proceeded without anyone paying the slightest bit of attention to them.

 

Lay had been a ranger for over a year now. Throughout the year, Lay had thought he had seen glimpses of them. Every now and then, Lay would see flashes of blue or yellow flitting around at the corner of his eye, but whenever he turned to take a closer look, they were nowhere to be found. As he looked at them, Lay realised that he had seen them before. On the day of his departure from Minas Tirith, in the courtyard of the fortress, underneath the White Tree of Gondor. They had been flitting in the air merrily in front of Prince Sehun, who seemed to be deep in conversation with them.

 

Around him, his fellow rangers were falling, and Lay was powerless to help them.

 

Lay was powerless, but Sehun was not. If Sehun were here, Sehun could save them.

 

The birds knew Sehun. Lay was sure of this.

 

“Prince Sehun!” Lay managed to gasp out in the direction of the birds with the last of his remaining strength. “Help! Please… …”

 

The birds twittered at each other anxiously, before one of them took off into the depths of the forest. The other one remained with Lay, hovering in the air in front of him, beating its wings furiously, chittering agitatedly. Its presence gave Lay a measure of comfort, even as darkness overtook him.

 

Drip, drop. Drip, drop.

 

Lay awoke to the sound of dripping water. He was hanging upside down in a cocoon of spider silk, unable to move. He was still suffering from the paralysing effect of the poison. He was in a tunnel, dark and damp. Spider webs were everywhere. Around him, his fellow rangers hung in similar cocoons. Lay counted six cocoons besides himself. Suho, Chen, Kai, Kyungsoo, Baekhyun, and Chanyeol. They were alright, or so Lay hoped. Lay could only surmise that they were paralysed like he was, but not dead. Lay cared not if he lived or died, but he wanted his comrades to make it out alive.

 

The little blue and yellow bird flew towards Lay, twittering excitedly as it hovered in the air in front of Lay. It seemed happy to realise that Lay had awoken. Its mate was nowhere to be seen. A surge of hope rose within Lay. Sehun was being informed. Sehun was coming.

 

With no sun and no moon, Lay had no means to gauge the passage of time, but to Lay it already felt like an eternity. With nothing else he could do, Lay forced himself to go to sleep, the open-eyed form of elvish sleep that Lay forced himself to go into when he knew he had to rest his body before an impending fight.

 

Dreams overtook him. As always, they were of Xiumin. Lay was transported back to Rivendell, back to the days of his childhood. They were in class together, learning poetry and music, learning about nature, and about the history of Arda and Illuvator and his angels. Xiumin was always the favourite. The teachers’ favourite for his quick wit and intelligence, always the first to grasp difficult concepts and give all the right answers to the teachers’ questions. The children’s favourite for his kind and humble nature, never proud of the fact that he was the best of them in whatever they studied, but instead was always unfailing polite and helpful, always keen to help others out when they faced a question they could not solve, or nudge their thinking in the right direction so that they could derive the right answers on their own.

 

Xiumin was everyone’s favourite, but Lay was Xiumin’s favourite. Xiumin always wanted to sit next to Lay in class, always wanted to partner Lay if they were doing pair work, always wanted Lay on his team if they were playing games. And after school ended, Xiumin would drag Lay off to play, just the two of them, in the forests and the streams and the waterfalls. The other children had always been hesitant to befriend Lay, because of his status as a Silvan elf, but with Xiumin’s obvious acceptance of him, they grew to accept him too. Xiumin was Lay’s first friend, and it was this friendship that brought him many more.

 

It was only many years later, when they were grown up, that Lay asked Xiumin about it, why Xiumin chose Lay to be his best friend, when Xiumin could have easily chosen anyone else. Xiumin had cocked his head to side, his large eyes blinking at Lay, as if puzzled that Lay even needed to ask such a question.

 

“I loved you since the day I first met you,” Xiumin had said. “I wanted to be with you all the time, because if I wasn’t, I would be thinking of you and missing you. I tried my best to make you happy, because if you were unhappy, I was unhappy too. All the things I loved doing‒ fishing, climbing trees, trekking through the mountain‒ I loved doing them even more if you were doing them with me. Even when we were kids, I already knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you.”

 

Then Xiumin was kissing Lay, rolling him onto his back on the grass. The sky was blue, and forest around them was green and peaceful, and the brook bubbled merrily next to them. The look in Xiumin’s eyes told Lay what Xiumin wanted from him, and there was no one else in their secret spot in the woods, so Lay willingly gave it to Xiumin.

 

A bright explosion of light, and the distressed high-pitched cry of a spider jolted Lay awake. The bird immediately took off in the direction of the commotion. Sehun was here! Lay strained his ears. He could hear intermittent sounds of the battle raging in the tunnels beyond. He could hear the distressed cries of the spiders, and flashes of white light in the distance, so pure and so bright that they could only have come from the _Kalahui_. Of Sehun’s voice, Lay could hear nothing. Lay did not hear the voices of any other elves either. Had Sehun come alone? Lay had thought he might have brought some of the Lothlorien elves with him.

 

With one last shriek of pain from a spider, the battle came to an end. Silence descended onto the tunnels once more. The only sound Lay could hear was dripping water. Suddenly, he heard the happy chittering of the birds approaching. The two of them were reunited once more. Of Sehun, Lay could still hear nothing, but Lay knew that that did not mean that Sehun was not here. Sehun was capable of moving about noiselessly, just like Lay. Lay’s eyes searched the tunnel in front of him. He saw the birds first, hovering and dancing in mid-air. Then, he saw him. The silent form of Sehun picking his way through the strings of webs, dodging them with elegance and ease.

 

Sehun came to a stop underneath Lay. With his hand, Sehun made a gesture, and the string of spider web holding Lay’s cocoon to the ceiling was cut as if by an invisible knife. Instead of freefalling, Lay’s cocoon was lowered gently to the floor of the tunnel, as if he were cradled in the palm of an invisible giant. When Lay was lying flat on the ground, Sehun unsheathed a knife. He tried to cut Lay loose from the cocoon with it, but the blade stuck in the stickiness of the spider silk. Sehun closed his eyes in concentration for a while. The knife started to glow faintly with blue light. Sehun tried again, and this time the knife cut smoothly into the cocoon.

 

Sehun lifted Lay free from the cocoon, and lay him down on the bare floor of the tunnel. Slowly, Sehun leaned down, and pressed his lips upon Lay’s. Lay felt a tingling of warmth spreading from his lips throughout his body, chasing away the cold paralysis of the spider’s poison. Finally able to move, Lay tried to sit up, but immediately fell back, dizzy from the exertion and moaning in pain. Sehun caught him, so that it was in Sehun’s arms he fell back into, and not the hard stone tunnel floor.

 

“My precious Lay, are you alright?”

 

Lay nodded.

 

“Your ribs are broken. Let me mend them from you.”

 

“The other rangers… Save them first…” Lay’s throat was dry, and his voice came out as a rasp.

 

Sehun nodded, and lowered Lay gently down on the floor. He lifted a skin of water to Lay’s lips, and Lay drank gratefully. Before he turned to leave, Lay’s hand shot out, grabbing Sehun on the arm.

 

“Thank you.”

 

Even in the darkness of the tunnel, Lay could see Sehun’s smile. It lit up his face. The two birds landed on the floor next to Lay, hopping about and twittering merrily. Lay smiled at their obvious joy that Lay was safe, and of being reunited with each other. Lay thanked them too, just as seriously as he had thanked Sehun.

 

Lay watched as Sehun lowered the ranger that had been hanging next to him, Suho, onto the floor of the tunnel and cut him loose from the cocoon. Lay could not help but watch intently to see how Sehun would release Suho from the effects of the spider’s poison. Sehun lay a hand on Suho’s forehead, and concentrated, murmuring strains of an elvish song under his breath. A moment later, Suho coughed and sputtered.

 

Lay blushed as he remembered Sehun’s chosen method of neutralising the poison for him. So Sehun did not have to use that particular method after all. He could have chosen to wake Lay up in the same fashion that he had woken Suho, but he didn’t.

 

Sehun rose to tend to the next ranger, and Lay gingerly sat up. His ribs hurt. He knelt down beside Suho to check if he was alright. Lay gently poured water down Suho’s throat, watching as Suho gulped down the water greedily. He gave Suho some time to adjust, before he helped Suho to his feet, and the two of them went to help the rangers who were being revived one by one by Sehun. The rangers were confused, and more than a little unsettled.

 

“Follow me.” Sehun spoke in human tongue. His tone was impassive, crisp and to the point.

 

Sehun turned on his heels, leading the way out of the tunnels. The rangers took hesitant steps forward, following the sound of his voice. Kyungsoo swore, his agitated voice reverberating through the tunnels as he stumbled over a stone, falling face first on the tunnel floor. Lay quickly went to his side to help him up. Abruptly, Lay realised that unlike Sehun and himself, the other rangers could not see in the dark.

 

“Prince Sehun, please, we need light…”

 

Following Sehun’s lead, Lay spoke in human tongue instead of elvish, so that the other rangers could understand them.

 

As soon as Lay’s voice trailed off, light burst forth from the _Kalahui_ , illuminating the tunnel. The _Kalahui_ shone like a star. Sehun hummed a tune under his breath. Part of the light emanating from the _Kalahui_ gathered and spun, spinning until it formed into the shape of a sphere in Sehun’s right palm. Sehun held out the ball of light to Lay.

 

“Take it.”

 

Lay held out his hand, and Sehun deposited the ball of light into his palm. The light was not solid. It had no corporeal feel, but Lay sensed its form anyway, sensed the edges of its boundaries, so that he was able to cup his fingers around it and hold on to it. It was a strange feeling.

 

“I will take the lead. You can bring up the rear.”

 

They proceeded in this fashion, in single file, as Sehun led them through the tunnels. The rangers’ steps were sure and steady now that they could see the path ahead of them, guided by the greater light of Sehun’s ring in the front, and the lesser light held by Lay in the rear. The birds trailed behind Lay, chirping merrily. Chen was directly in front of Lay, but he gave no indication that he either saw or heard the birds at all.

 

An increasing tinge of freshness in the air told Lay that they were nearing the exit. The rangers let out cries of joy as they spilled out from the tunnels, some of them sinking to their knees in exhaustion, others sitting or even lying on the ground to catch their breath. Lay stepped out of the cave, glad of the open sky that was above him once more. It was night. The cloudless sky was filled with stars. Lay took a deep breath, the fresh air filling his lungs calming him down. He looked around at his fellow rangers. They had started out with thirty of them in their company. Now, they were seven. Who knew when they were hunting down the band of fifty orcs that things would turn out this way? Though the orcs outnumbered them, they had taken down bigger orc numbers than this before, and they had been so confident that the battle would go well. Grief rose like a wave within Lay.

 

Sehun stepped up next to Lay.

 

“How are you feeling?” asked Sehun, reverting back to elvish.

 

“I’m alright, my prince. I am in your debt.”

 

“You must be in pain. Let me heal your broken ribs.”

 

“Perhaps we should find shelter for the night first. Get everyone settled down.”

 

Sehun frowned. “I wish you would stop putting others above yourself.”

 

Though Sehun did not look happy, he said no more, and Lay took Sehun’s silence as consent. After they had rested for a while, Sehun gathered the rangers and they trudged on in search of a place to spend the night. The birds led them to a corpse of trees at the outskirts of a forest, though it seemed that only Lay and Sehun could see them. The rest of the rangers seemed to be merely following Sehun’s lead, without realising that Sehun was following the birds. The row of towering trees blocked off the wind, and there was some bracken at the base of the trees, which would provide a soft bed for the night. It was a good place to make camp. The rangers sank to the ground gratefully, happy to be able to settle down for the night. The night was chilly, and Chen and Kyungsoo set about gathering firewood to start a fire.

 

“Only gather fallen branches and twigs. Do not take from the living trees,” Sehun instructed.

 

Chen and Kyungsoo obeyed without question, respecting Sehun as their saviour. When they had gathered enough firewood, they set about starting the fire, Kyungsoo rubbing a sharpened stick into a piece of wood, and Chen blowing into the bits of dried grass he was holding next to the tip of the sharpened stick, but Sehun stopped them again.

 

“Wait. Let me speak to the trees first.”

 

Chen and Kyungsoo looked surprised, but respectfully did as Sehun bid. Sehun closed his eyes, a look of concentration on his face. After a while, he opened his eyes.

 

“The trees said it’s alright to start the fire, as long as we make sure it does not spread, and that we put it out before we go away.”

 

All the rangers were looking at Sehun in open-mouthed shock, surprised that Sehun could speak to trees. Sehun ignored them, and merely stretched an open hand to the pile of firewood. The wood burst into flames, saving Chen and Kyungsoo the trouble of starting the fire. This display of magic further surprised the rangers, but no one said anything. They all silently gathered around the fire gratefully, warming themselves.

 

After some time, Suho cleared his throat, breaking the silence. “Brothers, this is Prince Sehun, of the Vanyar Elves. He comes from the Undying Lands.”

 

A ripple of shock went through the rangers. Though all the elves in Middle Earth knew of Prince Sehun coming to Middle Earth from Aman, it was not something the elves had told the other races about. Lay knew that while the rangers must have heard stories of the legendary Undying Lands before, they had never expected to actually meet a person who had come from it.

 

“I met Prince Sehun before, at Minas Tirith.” Suho continued. “He was with Lay, the day Lay joined our order.”

 

Somehow, this revelation that Prince Sehun was someone that Lay knew seemed to calm the rangers down, and they seemed more relaxed.

 

“Prince Sehun,” said Suho, looking Sehun directly in the eye. “Thank you. We owe you our lives.”

 

“I am glad that you are safe.”

 

Though his words were kind, Sehun’s face was detached and his tone impassive. This was the elven way. Elves were never much for dramatic displays of feelings, but having interacted with the human rangers for over a year, Lay knew humans found such lack of emotion extremely unnerving.

 

“You are all injured. I have some skill at healing. I can heal you all in turn. We’ll start with you first,” Sehun stated imperiously, turning to Baekhyun, who was seated nearest to him.

 

Baekhyun looked vaguely alarmed to be the first to be singled out. He glanced at Lay. Lay met his eyes and nodded. This gesture calmed Baekhyun, and he readily followed Sehun’s orders to lie down on the bracken. As they were making their way here, Lay noticed that Baekhyun had been hobbling, unable to put weight on his right ankle, and he had also been favouring his left arm.

 

Before Sehun rose to tend to Baekhyun, he removed some elven bread from his satchel and pressed it into Lay’s hand. It was lembas. A couple of mouthfuls was all that was needed to fill the stomach of a grown man. Lay peeled away the leaves the bread was wrapped in and broke it, passing the pieces around. Lay sat in front of the fire, next to Kai, watching Sehun lay his hand on Baekhyun, singing softly under his breath.

 

“Wow! This is amazing! You’re really something!” Baekhyun said warmly to Sehun after the song ended, standing up and trying out the range of movement of his arm and ankle, speaking to Sehun as familiarly as he would to a fellow ranger. Sehun did not react to Baekhyun at all, but this did not seem to faze Baekhyun, and he happily called the next ranger to Sehun for treatment. Lay smiled at Baekhyun’s obvious acceptance of Sehun. Amongst the rangers, Baekhyun had been the first to accept Lay too, immediately being at ease with Lay, despite Lay being of another race, and acting as a bridge to connect him to the other rangers. Baekhyun plopped himself down next to Lay, and Lay passed him the piece of lembas he had been saving for him.

 

After all the other rangers had been healed by Sehun, he turned to look at Lay, and their eyes met over the fire. Lay got up and made his way to Sehun. The birds, who had been accompanying Sehun, twittered merrily when Lay sat down next to them. Lay offered them some crumbs of lembas that he had set aside for them. The birds settled on his palm, pecking away at the crumbs. Sehun smiled at them. Lay waited until the birds had finished eating before he lay down on the bracken. Sehun’s soft elvish song started, and though Lay could not see it, he could feel it. The comforting warmth of the healing magic that was washing over him. He could feel his bones moving, settling themselves back in their rightful positions, could feel his flesh mending, wounds sealing themselves up, could feel the right-ness of being whole. Sehun’s song trailed off, and Lay simply lay there for a while, enjoying the residual soothing comfort of the healing magic. Eventually he sat up again. The pain was gone. His body felt good.

 

“How are you feeling?” asked Sehun, reverting back to elvish.  

 

“I’m fine, my prince. Thank you.”

 

Lay held out his hands, and the birds settled down in his palms, one on each hand, hopping around excitedly.

 

“You asked them to watch over me.”

 

It was not a question. Lay glanced at Sehun. He looked slightly abashed.

 

“You were going off with the rangers on your own. I just wanted a means to know if you were alright, a way to know if any harm had befallen you, so that I could come to you should you ever need me. I hadn’t meant… It was not my intention to spy on you. I suppose I should have asked you first, but I was sure you would say no… and I couldn’t do it… couldn’t make myself let you leave my side if I had no way of knowing how you were doing… …”

 

“You saved me. And Suho, and Baekhyun, and Chen, and Kyungsoo, and Chanyeol, and Kai. I’m glad you asked the birds to watch over me. And I’m glad you came.”

 

Sehun smiled one of his rare smiles again. Like it did in the tunnels, it lit up his face. He looked good when he smiled, Lay thought. Prince Sehun’s usual stoic expressionless face was exceedingly handsome, but seeing Sehun smile warmed Lay’s heart.

 

“They must have been following me since I left Minas Tirith with Suho. But I only saw them when I got caught by the spiders. Why couldn’t I see them before?”

 

“I put a concealment spell on them, so that they won’t be noticed following you around. The spell was meant to break only if you were in danger.”

 

“But the others, they still can’t see them?”

 

“No. We are the only ones who can see them.”

 

“What are their names?”

 

“I call them Folly and Hubris. Folly was the one that came to get me. Hubris stayed with you.”

 

“Where were you? When Folly came to find you?”

 

“At Lothlórien.”

 

Lay frowned. “How long were we in the tunnels?”

 

“According to Hubris, slightly more than three days.”

 

“How long did it take, for Folly to fly from here to Lothlorien to find you?”

 

“About three days.”

 

“How did you get here so fast?”

 

“I have my ways to make travel faster.”

 

Lay nodded. He wasn’t surprised. He had long suspected that covering long distances within a fraction of the usual time was a skill that Sehun possessed. He had brought it up in hopes that Sehun would explain how he did it, but it looked like that would not be the case. He brought up another question that had been bothering him.

 

“The spiders that attacked us… Do you think they are related to the Ungoliant?”

 

“I am sure of it.” Sehun paused, frowning into the fire, his eyebrows drawn slightly together in a crease. “I was in such a haste to rescue you, I slaughtered all the spiders in the tunnels. I neglected to read their minds first. I should have extracted their memories regarding the Ungoliant, when I had the chance.”

 

Sehun let out a soft sigh that melted into the quiet of the night.

 

“Lady Nienna always said that I still lacked a level of maturity, that I had to learn to overcome my impulsiveness. She was right.”

 

Lay felt a pang of guilt for being the reason that Sehun had lost his calm judgement.

 

“I will go back to tunnels tomorrow,” said Sehun, his voice soft but determined. “The Ungoliant might be unaware that all the spiders here have been killed. She might try to contact them. I will wait there, for her, or for any messenger she might try to send to them. Chances are silm, but I have no other leads at this point.”

 

Lay’s heart almost skipped a beat. Sehun was going back to the tunnels? He never wanted to set foot in those tunnels, nor in any other tunnel, in his life again. Nevertheless, he was not about to let Sehun go back there on his own.

 

“My prince, let me go with you.”

 

Sehun turned to look at Lay.

 

“You don’t have to. You just recovered from your injury. You should rest.”

 

“I feel fine. You have healed me well. I can fight for you, my prince.”

 

“You belong with the rangers now. Captain Suho may not release you to go on a mission of your own with me.”

 

“He would understand if I explained to him about the Ungoliant. Besides, I swore an oath to you at the Grey Havens. My sword and bow are yours. I am bound to you.”

 

Sehun offered no other protest, and Lay took his silence as consent. Sehun stretched out on the bracken. Lay knew he must be exhausted. Healing seven people at a time was no easy feat, on top of him single-handedly battling the giant spiders, and rushing here from Lothlórien. Leaving Sehun to sleep, Lay went back to the fire, where the other rangers were seated. He told them about the Ungoliant, and his intention to return to the tunnels with Sehun.

 

“We’ll go with you,” said Chanyeol at once. There were murmurs of assent all round.

 

“Wouldn’t we, Captain?” added Chanyeol, belatedly remembering that Suho should be the one making the decisions.

 

Suho frowned into fire, deep in thought. “We cannot let Lay and Prince Sehun go into danger alone. It is only right we go with them.”

 

“That’s decided then!” Baekhyun chimed in quickly, blatantly ignoring the fact that the worried tone in Suho’s voice meant that something was troubling him.

 

“What’s worrying you?” Chen asked Suho gently, ignoring Baekhyun’s attempt to not give Suho any space to change his mind about going with Lay and Sehun. “We were taken by surprise when we were attacked by the spiders. We had thought it was only the orcs that we would be fighting. Now that we are going in knowing what we are facing, if it comes to battle, we wouldn't be beaten as badly as we had previously.”

 

“That’s exactly it.” Suho eyebrows were furrowed. “The orcs leading us to the spiders. It cannot possibly be a coincidence. They were working together. This, coupled with the news that Lay just told us about this ancient evil, the Ungoliant, worries me. The orcs are weak, scattered, because they don’t have a leader. We had thought that it was only a matter of time before we rooted out all the remnants of Sauron’s forces. But if the orcs, trolls and balrogs that once served Sauron know of the Ungoliant too, and are flocking to her as their new leader, then things may not be so simple. We may have another war on our hands. King Aragorn must be warned.”

 

A silence descended as the rangers digested Suho’s words.

 

“One of us will have to travel to Minas Tirith to inform King Aragorn,” Suho decided. “The rest of us will accompany Prince Sehun on his quest.”

 

Suho turned towards Kai. Kai was the youngest, and when it came to it, Suho protected him the most.

 

“No!” said Kai vehemently. “I am going along too! I will not be left behind.”

 

“Informing King Aragorn is an important duty too,” Chen tried to persuade Kai, but Kai was having none of it.

 

“If informing King Aragorn is your concern, I believe Prince Sehun may have his own ways of communicating over long distances. We may not have to send Kai away after all,” said Lay thoughtfully.

 

“Really?” Baekhyun was visibly intrigued. “How?”

 

“I am not too sure either,” Lay confessed. “But I am very sure that Prince Sehun has his way of communicating with Lady Galadriel. Distance would not be an obstacle to either of them. Once she receives the message from Prince Sehun, Lady Galadriel would be able to pass it on to King Aragorn through Queen Arwen easily. Queen Arwen is Lady Galadriel’s granddaughter.”

 

Lay cast a look over his shoulder, where the elven prince was sleeping peacefully. “I’ll ask Prince Sehun, when he wakes up tomorrow.”

 

“He sleeps with his eyes open,” observed Chanyeol, following the direction of Lay’s gaze. “Just like you, Lay.”

 

“Yeah, he’s like you in so many ways. You have the same way of moving, the same way of talking. But he’s also very different from you,” said Baekhyun. “You can’t talk to trees, can you?”

 

Lay smiled. “No, I’m afraid I can’t.”

 

“He killed the spiders all by himself? How did he do that?” asked Kyungsoo.

 

“And he healed all of us!”

 

“How old is he anyway? You’re a thousand years old right? Is he older than you?”

 

“No, I think he looks younger than Lay.”

 

“How can you tell? All elves look equally young!”

 

“He just does!”

 

“Ha! As if you’ve seen enough elves to be able to tell. Lay’s the only elf you know!”

 

Their conversation had started off as hushed whispers over the fire, but by now, it had rapidly gained volume, and Suho quickly shushed them, in fear of waking up Sehun.

 

Suho and Chen volunteered to take the first watch, and the rest of them settled down on the bracken to sleep. Lay settled down next to Sehun, who was sleeping right at the edge. Baekhyun lay on Lay’s other side. Chanyeol lay next to Baekhyun, followed by Kyungsoo, and Kai at the other end.

 

Before Lay closed down his mind to sleep, Lay said a prayer in his heart to Illuvator for his fallen comrades, remembering each of their names and faces in turn. With his elven hearing, Lay could tell Baekhyun, Chanyeol and Kyungsoo were doing the same, mouthing silent prayers into the darkness of the night. Kai didn’t, because he wasn’t particularly religious, but Lay knew he carried the grief in his heart just the same. Chanyeol had tears streaking down his cheeks, which Lay knew that he wouldn’t want anyone to see, but besides Lay, Baekhyun had sensed them too. He put a comforting hand on Chanyeol’s arm, wiping away tears of his own. Neither Kai nor Kyungsoo cried. Lay knew they wouldn’t cry unless they were alone. They held their emotions in like that.

 

With the discipline of a soldier who knows that he needs to rest his body for battles to come, Lay forced his mind to shut down despite his emotional turmoil, emptying himself of emotion and letting blackness overcome him.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I borrowed Folly and Hubris from The Tapestry series by Henry H. Neff.


	5. The Hunt

Lay woke up suddenly in the middle of the night, his eyes already open, his mind instantly alert. Even then, it took a second for Lay to realise what woke him. Sehun had rolled over in his sleep, and had slung an arm around Lay. Lay looked at the arm lying across his waist, felt its weight on his stomach, rising and falling in tandem with Lay’s breathing. For a second, Lay contemplated leaving it there. He knew how tired Sehun was, and did not want to disturb his sleep. But allowing another man hold him in his sleep felt too much like a betrayal to Xiumin, so Lay gently pried the arm off him. Despite his gentleness, the movement still woke Sehun.

 

Sehun quickly retracted his arm on his own accord. He sat up, resting his head on the palm of his hand, his elbow resting on his raised knee. “Sorry,” he murmured.

 

“It’s alright,” Lay whispered back, feeling awkward and embarrassed. He quickly turned on his side, facing the other way. Lay noted that it was Suho, and not Baekhyun, sleeping beside him now. That meant it was already the second watch, which Baekhyun and Chanyeol were doing. Lay would be doing the third watch. Knowing that he needed rest so that he could do his watch effectively, Lay shut off his emotions and closed down his mind again, and went back to sleep.

 

Lay woke to Baekhyun shaking him awake. He sat up at once. Down the row, Chanyeol was having less luck waking Kai. Grunting in his sleep, Kai slapped Chanyeol’s hand off his shoulder, then rolled over. Smiling, Lay said, “It’s alright, Chanyeol. Let Kai sleep. I’ll do the watch with Prince Sehun.”

 

Chanyeol looked over, where Sehun was standing in front of the fire, back facing them, looking up into the night sky, contemplating the heavens. Chanyeol nodded, his tired eyes almost half-closed, then proceeded to take the spot on the bracken Lay just vacated, Baekhyun having already lain down on the spot where Sehun had been sleeping. Lay got up and walked over to Sehun. They stood together without speaking, Lay following Sehun’s line of sight to study the stars. They were beautiful, cold and distant, twinkling in abundance as they dotted the heavens.

 

“That’s the Silmaril,” Sehun said eventually, breaking the silence of the night. The stone on his ring lit up and shone a white beacon into the night sky, pointing at the star Sehun was referring to. It shone bigger and brighter than any other star. “The stone from which the _Kalahui_ got its light. Every time I think that things are too difficult to bear, I look at the Silmaril, and I think perhaps the going is not so bad, that the Silmaril will give me strength through the _Kalahui_ , to help me see it to the end.”

 

Lay was surprised to hear Sehun confess feelings of inadequacy. In Lay’s eyes, Sehun was almost a demigod, capable of endless feats and miracles. To hear Sehun voice insecurities was extremely unnerving for Lay.

 

“The Ungoliant will fall before you, my prince. She has not the strength to withstand you.”

 

Sehun said nothing in reply. Lay told him about the rangers wanting to come along with them into the tunnels, and asked him about sending a message to King Aragorn. Sehun nodded, acceding to both requests without much thought, as if neither mattered much to him.

 

“Do you think Suho is right? That the remnants of Sauron’s forces would seek refuge with the Ungoliant? That we might be on the brink of another war?”

 

“I have no doubt the balrogs fled to her the instant Sauron fell. If the orcs led you to the spiders, as you say, then it is highly likely that by now, the orcs and the trolls know of the Ungoliant’s existence too, and have flocked to her. As of war, I believe the Ungoliant is bidding her time, waiting for the migration of the elves to be over. It would give her one less race to fight against if she waits till then. Lord Elrond has already left, and so has Gandalf. Lady Galadriel is due to leave soon. She is probably hoping that I would leave on the last ship as well. She would wait till then to strike. If war were to break out in Middle Earth once again, it would be then. But be rest assured that I mean to root out the Ungoliant and destroy her before it comes to that. The War of the Ring has already brought much grief and damage to Middle Earth, and I do not want the strife of war to mar Middle Earth again.”

 

Sehun’s eyes fell to the front pocket of Lay’s tunic. He reached out, and gently touched the small white flower that was tucked into it.

 

“You still keep it.” Sehun’s voice was soft, and his expression placid, but Lay could tell he was happy.

 

Lay kept the bloom of _Uilos_ because he had plucked it from Xiumin’s grave. It reminded him of Xiumin, made him feel like Xiumin was with him wherever he went. But if Lay was honest with himself, the flower reminded him of not just Xiumin, but Sehun too. He remembered Sehun’s lips pressing upon the petals, blessing the flower with everlasting life with his kiss.

 

Lay turned his attention from Sehun when he spotted Kyungsoo stumbling groggily from the bracken to sit by the fire.

 

“It’s time for my watch. Why didn’t you wake me?” asked Kyungsoo sleepily, blinking owlishly at Lay. He and Suho were meant to take the last watch of the night, after Lay and Kai. With seven, they were an odd number, so Suho, as the leader, had tasked himself with one extra watch.

 

“I’ve rested enough. I felt like I could take the watch with Prince Sehun, so I didn’t want to wake you, or Suho. We didn’t wake Kai up for his watch either.”

 

Kyungsoo turned back his head and blinked blurrily at Kai and Suho, who were still sleeping peacefully, dead to the world. Kyungsoo’s hair was mussed, sticking up at odd angles, and Lay smoothed down his hair for him. Lay noticed that Sehun had boiled a pot of tea over the fire, and Lay poured out a cup for Kyungsoo.  After Kyungsoo was done, Lay refilled the cup and drank some tea too. Then, he poured out some tea for Sehun. Sehun took the cup from Lay wordlessly, sipping it as he stood apart from where Lay and Kyungsoo sat by the fire. After he finished his tea, he told Lay in elvish that he was going into the forest, so that he could send Suho’s message to King Aragorn.

 

“What did he say?” asked Kyungsoo, after Sehun had disappeared into the forest. Folly and Hubris were awake now, and they were following merrily behind him.

 

Kyungsoo’s eyes widened slightly after Lay told him. “How is he going to do that? Why must it be done in the forest, and not here?”

 

Lay admitted that he had no idea.

 

The other rangers woke up one after another. Lay poured them all tea and distributed portions of lembas. The sun had risen. Chen and Kyungsoo put out the fire, as Sehun had instructed. Lay packed up Sehun’s belongings for him, a small satchel containing lembas, a small box of tea leaves, a skin of water, a few basic utensils and some spare clothing. He laid out Sehun’s weapons neatly on ground next to the satchel, a bow with a full quiver of arrows, a dagger and a sword. Then, they all waited for Sehun to return.

 

Though Sehun himself made no sound as he emerged from the forest, the merry chirping of Folly and Hubris heralded his return. Lay stood up in greeting. This cued the other rangers, and they all turned to watch Sehun stride out of the cover of the trees.

 

“I have passed on your message to Lady Galadriel. She would inform King Aragorn,” said Sehun to Suho without any preamble, his tone bearing no inflection. He ignored Suho when the later thanked him.

 

Sehun cast a look at his packed belongings. Lay offered Sehun his sword, which Sehun slid into his belt. Lay was about to help Sehun buckle the quiver behind his back, but Sehun stopped him.

 

“Keep the bow and the arrows. And the dagger. I have requested for arms for all of you from Lothlorien, but it will take days before their riders reach here. Until then, Lay, keep these to arm yourself.”

 

Lay nodded, and buckled the quiver and the bow to his own back. Instead of sliding the dagger into his own belt, Lay passed it to Suho. Lay glanced at Sehun to see if he would allow it. Sehun remained silent, so Lay took his silence as consent. Sehun then led them to a lake in the forest, where the rangers gratefully washed up in. Lay loved the feel of water on his bare skin, submerging his whole body under the cool water. He emerged from the lake feeling refreshed and clean. He blushed a little when he noticed Prince Sehun’s gaze on him, and he darted behind a tree to get dressed again.

 

Once all the rangers had finished bathing and were dressed once more, Sehun said, “I’m going back to the tunnels.”

 

Immediately after his announcement, Sehun turned on his heel and strode off in the direction of the tunnels, without waiting for a reaction from any one of them. Lay hastily slung Sehun’s satchel over his shoulder, and followed the elven prince. The other rangers trailed behind Lay. Chen jogged up to Lay, taking over the satchel, so that Lay need not carry so much.

 

It took them half the morning to reach the entrance of the tunnels. It seemed to Lay that the walk back was much shorter than the walk that they had taken the night before. Before they entered the tunnels, Suho asked Sehun if they could pause for a while, to conduct funeral rites for the fallen comrades. They had no bodies to bury, but the tunnels were their tomb, and the entrance of tunnels was as good a place as any to conduct their last rites for them. Sehun acquiesced. Suho said the prayers, and the rangers buried twenty-three pebbles, one for each of their fallen brothers, one at time, in the grassy knoll before the tunnels. The rangers were all crying openly now, including Kyungsoo and Kai, who hardly ever cried, and Lay. Sehun stood apart from them, watching the proceedings silently.

 

It was only later in the day that they made it back into the tunnels. They walked in single file again, Sehun leading the way with the light from the _Kalahui_ , and Lay bringing up the rear with the ball of light Sehun created once more for him. Sehun brought them deep into the labyrinth of tunnels. They passed through tunnels covered in spider webs, in which the going was tough, but they encountered no more spiders, for which Lay was glad.

 

When Sehun brought them out, night had fallen again. Wordlessly, Sehun led them back to copse of trees where they had camped the night before. The rangers quickly got to work to make camp. This time, Chen asked Sehun to seek permission from the trees first before lighting the fire. They ate a simple meal of tea and lembas. After their meal, Suho was about to assign watches for the night when Sehun cut in.

 

“That would not be necessary. The trees have agreed to give me warning if any enemies approach.”

 

The other rangers accepted this without much show of surprise. Lay smiled. They were getting used to Sehun and his ways.

 

“Have you found anything, from our trip to tunnels today?” asked Lay.

 

A hush fell over the fireplace, as everyone turned their attention on Sehun.

 

Sehun was frowning into the fire. “Yes… and no.”

 

The other rangers exchanged looks at the non-answer, but Lay knew Sehun was not deliberately being cryptic. He just needed more time to figure out his thoughts. He waited patiently for Sehun to continue. The other rangers looked uncomfortable with the silence, but Lay nodded reassuringly at them. It took a while, but eventually Sehun started talking again.

 

“No… because I found no living creatures down in the tunnels. If there had been a single plant or animal, I could have asked it to find out more, but there was nothing. I know not what this means. Was this deliberate on the Ungoliant’s part? Does she know what powers I have? This… worries me.”

 

“Yes… because we have established the fact that the tunnels go deep down, much further down then what we have explored today. It is likely that they are not a mass of dead ends… they lead somewhere.  If the Ungoliant were to contact the spiders that had been living here, she would send messengers from underground. We can eliminate above ground as a place that we need to watch over.”

 

The implications of this was not lost on Lay. If above ground was eliminated as a battle field, a large part of Sehun’s advantage was eliminated as well. If the battle was fought under the open sky, surrounded by nature, Sehun had an unlimited pool of allies. All the plants and animals were his eyes and ears. Below ground was another matter.

 

“I need to go through those tunnels,” Sehun decided. “To see where they lead to.”

 

“We’ll go with you,” said Suho.

 

Sehun nodded, accepting the rangers’ aid.

 

“Lady Galadriel’s riders should arrive in a few days. They would provide you with weapons, food and clothing. Until then, I suggest that only Lay and I venture in, to explore the surface tunnels. I don’t want to keep leading you into the tunnels when most of you are unarmed.”

 

Lay knew that Sehun’s main concern was that the _Kalahui’s_ light was an immediate giveaway of their presence to any enemies. But the human rangers could not see in the dark, and as long as they were around, Sehun could not put the light out. Lay was grateful to Sehun for not voicing this out loud, for not making the rangers feel that they were a hindrance.

 

They settled down to sleep. Sehun took the same spot on the bracken, on the extreme right, and Lay settled down beside him. Folly and Hubris settled down in the tree above them.

 

Over the next few days, Sehun and Lay went into the tunnels together, with Folly and Hubris following. Sehun told them they need not come along, they did not like the tunnels and were scared of the dark, but they insisted. Sehun and Lay worked in companionable silence for the most part. Lay followed Sehun as he meticulously examined the tunnels, inspecting the webbing left behind, examining the living quarters of the spiders, figuring out their feeding and living habits. He watched as Sehun conducted magical tests on the webbing and the poisonous secretions the spiders left behind.

 

“Have you made any discoveries, my prince?” Lay asked, after a particularly long session, which had Sehun frowning in concentration, murmuring incantation after incantation, the poison glowing in different colours in response.

 

“The spiders were definitely offspring of the Ungoliant. Their poison carries an ancient evil that can only come from her. Small amounts of the poison can paralyse, and large amounts of it can kill. The spiders have to be very precise about the amount of poison they inject into their prey, if they want their desired outcome. The fact that they keep their prey paralysed, instead of killing instantaneously, means they prefer to feed on live prey. Their living quarters show structure, and hierarchy. They are sentinel, capable of communication and strategy.”

 

This worried Lay. “Should we request for aid from the Mirkwood elves? They have long battled against the giant spiders that roam the forests of Mirkwood.”

 

“No, I would not trouble any of the elves. Their time on Middle Earth is over. They are all looking forward to the promised bliss of Aman, and I would not drag them into a war now.”

 

Sehun took a deep breath. He looked pale and uncomfortable. “Come, let us exit these tunnels. I have need of fresh air.”

 

When they stepped out into the open, Sehun looked visibly more relaxed. They returned to their camp, and were pleasantly delighted to find the riders from Lothlorien awaiting them there, sitting at the camp with the rangers. The two elves knelt before Sehun in greeting. They presented the supplies they brought to Sehun, wrapped neatly in parcels. Lay unpacked them. There were bows and arrows, swords and daggers, clothes for them all, food and other camping supplies. Besides lembas and tea leaves, there was cheese and dried fruit as well.

 

Lay distributed the clothes amongst the rangers first. They retreated to the cover of the trees to get changed, grateful to be able to change out their rags at last. Lay thought the rangers look good in their new elven garb, tunic and breaches, and cloaks of forest green. When they got back to the camp, Lay distributed the weapons next. Like Sehun, each ranger was fitted with a bow and a quiver of arrows, a sword and a dagger. It felt good to be armed again. Now that he had his own arms, Lay returned Sehun’s weapons to him. Finally, Lay distributed the food supplies, separating them equally into different satchels, one for each ranger. Each satchel also had its own water skin, flint and blanket.

 

The rangers marvelled at the elven made weapons, testing them out with great satisfaction, thanking the Sehun and the Lothlorien elves profusely.  Chanyeol and Suho were soon engaged in a sword battle to test out their new swords, the other rangers cheering and egging them on.

 

Sehun invited the two Lothlorien elves to stay the night at their camp. Happy for the opportunity to speak to fellow elves, Lay sat next to them at the camp fire and chatted with them late into the night. Sehun asked them about the progress of the migration of the Lothlorien elves, and they assured Sehun that all was well. They offered to stay to help Sehun with his quest against the Ungoliant, saying that the Lady Galadriel was offering Sehun their aid, but Sehun politely declined their help.

 

When the night was late, and everyone’s eyelids were drooping, the two Lothlorien elves politely offered to take the first watch. Lay noticed that the rangers looked extremely gratified by how taken aback the Lothlorien elves were when Sehun told them that the trees would watch over them.

 

The next day, the two elves set off to return to Lothlorien. After they left, Sehun gently told Folly and Hubris to leave too.

 

“We’ve talked about this,” Sehun said gently but firmly in elvish. Lay knew that to the rest of the rangers, it must seem like Sehun was talking to thin air. “The tunnels are no place for two little birds. You have served me well, and for this, I am forever grateful, but I cannot ask you to follow me where I am going now. You should stay here, in the forest, where you belong.”

 

Folly and Hubris twittered, then flew to Lay, landing to rest on each side of his shoulder. Lay smiled fondly but Sehun would not be moved.

 

“No using Lay as a shield to go against me.”

 

Folly and Hubris twittered forlornly, but eventually slowly took off into the forest. They landed on the branch of the first tree they encountered, turning back to look at Lay and Sehun. Sehun held out an open palm to Folly and Hubris. Closing his eyes in concentration, Sehun murmured an incantation in ancient elvish. Lay did not sense any difference, but gasps from the rangers told him that the rangers were suddenly seeing the birds for the first time. Sehun had lifted the concealment spell. Folly and Hubris twittered, hopping about on the tree branch.

 

“Go on,” Sehun instructed.

 

Flying down only a few trees at a time, Folly and Hubris repeatedly stopped to look back. But at Sehun’s gentle but insistent urging, they went deeper and deeper into the forest. Lay watched them until they eventually disappeared from view. He was sorry to see them go.

 

Lay turned around. The rest of the rangers stood facing him and Sehun, packed and fully armed. There was an air of anticipation amongst them.

 

“Today, we go into the tunnels.” Sehun announced simply.

 

As always, he turned on his heel and walked off without further preamble, without turning to see if anyone followed. The rangers followed him without any hesitation. Lay quickened his pace, so that he walking astride with Sehun. A quick glance at Sehun confirmed what Lay suspected. Though he was the one to insist on it, sending Folly and Hubris away upset Sehun more than he could say. Lay walked in silence next to the prince, hoping his company brought him a measure of comfort.

 

When they reached the entrance of the caves, the rangers lit torches, made from fallen branches they had collected from the forest. They had discussed this in the evenings leading up to this day. Sehun could not afford to use the _Kalahui_ to light their way when they were in the tunnels. If they encountered the enemy, it would immediately cue them of the presence of a High Elf. But if the rangers used ordinary torches to light their way, they would only seem like a band of human rangers exploring the tunnels. They went into the tunnels in single file, Sehun leading the way, followed by Suho, Chanyeol, Baekhyun, Kyungsoo, Kai, Chen and Lay.

 

Lay had been in the tunnels every day for the past seven days. The familiarity of entering the tunnels did not make the experience any more pleasant. The air was heavy and damp, the cold stone walls oppressive. Lay and Sehun had explored all of the surface tunnels already. They were a mass of interconnecting caverns, but towards the back, they converged into a single tunnel that led deep into the heart of the earth.

 

It was to this tunnel that Sehun led them now. Lay wondered where and what the tunnel would lead them to.

 

Perhaps straight to the lair of the Ungoliant?

 

Lay steeled himself for what was to come.


	6. The Chase

They spent days walking through the tunnels. To Lay, it felt as long as an eternity. He longed to see the sun, to feel the breeze on his face, to breathe in fresh air. But Lay knew that no matter how badly the tunnels were affecting him, they affected Sehun even more. More than Lay, more than any other elf, Sehun was highly connected with nature. Enclosed by heavy stone walls, with naught a living thing in sight, sickened him. Lay could see the toll it took on Sehun, the strain that showed on his face. Instead of bringing up the rear, Lay started to walk side by side with Sehun in the front.

 

“Are you alright, my prince?” Lay asked in elvish, keeping his voice low. They had stopped to sleep, and he was lying next to Sehun, their blankets the only thing separating them from the cold hard stone floor of the tunnel. The other rangers had already fallen asleep, except for Kyungsoo and Kai, who were on watch.

 

Sehun did not reply immediately, and this worried Lay immensely. In the darkness, he reached out for Sehun’s hand. His fingers found the prince’s, and Lay covered the Sehun’s hand with his own, interlacing their fingers and bringing their palms together. Sehun held on to Lay’s hand tightly, clinging on to it.

 

“I feel like I can’t breathe.” Sehun admitted quietly. “I have no appetite. I can’t sleep.”

 

“I’m here with you, my prince.” Lay tried to reassure him. “Please try to get some rest.”

 

“What if we encounter the Ungoliant here? I feel… weak… I don’t feel up to a battle.”

 

“The _Kalahui_ would sustain you. The Ungoliant would not be able to stand up to the light of the _Kalahui_. And you have us, to fight alongside you. The other rangers are human, and the separation from nature does not affect them as badly as it does to us.”

 

Lay glanced at the other rangers. Suho, Chen, Baekhyun and Chanyeol were sleeping peacefully. Kai and Kyungsoo were conversing quietly at the other end, their faces illuminated by the one torch that they still left burning while they slept.

 

“Thank you for letting them come along,” said Lay quietly, knowing the other rangers would not understand them since they were speaking in elvish. “I know that you actually view them more as a liability, rather than an asset, and that you’ve brought them along only for my sake. But I assure you, my prince, they are strong and brave and above all, loyal. You would not regret letting them come on the quest.”

 

“I like them,” said Sehun. “I like them, because they care about you. They care if you live or die. They care if you are injured or not. They care if you’ve rested well and if you ate well. They care if you are happy, or if you are lonely or sad. My precious Lay, I cannot dislike anyone who cares for you like that. Even if they do not help in the battles to come, it is worth having them here, because it makes you happy to be with them.”

 

Lay wished he did not blush so easily. Out of shyness, he almost withdrew his hand from Sehun’s grasp, but Sehun would not let go.

 

“Thank you for saving them. If you had not come, they would all have died.”

 

“I saved them this time, but I have only postponed the inevitable. Lay, one day, death would claim them all. A hundred years from now, none of them would be here anymore. But you would remain.”

 

Sehun’s words hit home. When he dwelled in Rivendell, Lay had never encountered death. Death was a stranger he only discovered in the War of the Ring, when Xiumin and his other comrades in Lord Elrond’s army fell. Lay had found a new order to belong to, but this order was made up of mortal men, and Lay would now have to deal with death on a much more frequent basis. Lay looked at each of the rangers in turn. The flickering fire from the torch cast their faces in dancing shadows. He could not imagine any one of them growing old, their hair greying and their faces covered with wrinkles. He could not imagine losing any one of them. Tears started to well in his eyes, and he was quick to blink them away.

 

“My precious Lay, you would always have me.”

 

It sounded too much like a lover’s promise. Lay threw a sharp look at Sehun, and was about to forcibly withdraw his hand, but Sehun held on tightly, refusing to let go, and he continued.

 

“As a friend. If that is all you want from me, then that is all I would be. But no matter what, I would stay by your side. You do not need to face the eternity of the ages by yourself. I would face them with you, till the end.”

 

“But after you vanquish the Ungoliant, surely you’ll return to Aman…”

 

“Only if you would come with me. But if you would not, then we can stay together here in Middle Earth, the two of us accompanying each other, until Dagor Dagorath.”

 

“But your family awaits you in Aman, and your friends too. And the Lady Nienna…”

 

“I would miss them dearly, but I believe they would understand.”

 

Lay did not know how to respond to this. He knew that he should tell Sehun to return to Aman. He did not deserve to stay in Middle Earth, to be plagued by the weariness of the world. He belonged to the light of Aman. But somehow, Lay could not form the words to turn down Prince Sehun’s offer.

 

“What places have you travelled to, in Middle Earth?”

 

“I grew up in Rivendell, and I’ve been to Mirkwood and Lothlorien a few times. Helm’s Deep. And Minas Tirith, with you.”

 

“Have you ever met any dwarfs? Or hobbits?”

 

“I’ve seen the dwarf Gimli, son of Gloin, at Helm’s Deep, but hadn’t had the chance to speak to him. I’ve spoken to the hobbit Bilbo Baggins, when he stayed at Rivendell.”

 

“Bilbo Baggins was a ring bearer, wasn’t he? I’ve always wanted to speak to him. Have you ever spoken to the other ringbearers? Frodo Baggins, and Samwise Gamgee?”

 

“I’ve seen them in Rivendell, but I never had the opportunity to speak to them.”

 

“Frodo Baggins is the one I want to speak to the most, but he’s already sailed for Aman, together with Bilbo Baggins. But Samwise Gamgee is still here in Middle Earth, isn’t he? Gandalf says he lives in a place called the Shire. Gandalf always said the Shire is the happiest place in Middle Earth. I want to see it.”

 

“We’ll go together, once the quest is done,” Lay promised.

 

“After that… let’s go to the Misty Mountains too… and the Blue Mountains… I would like to meet a dwarf… King Thranduil says he can’t stand them…. But Lord Elrond thinks they’re funny…. Gandalf likes them too…”

 

Sehun’s voice trailed off as sleep overcame him. Not the open-eyed sleep, but the closed-eyed one. The kind of sleep that came to an elf only when he felt safe and secure. It should not be the kind of sleep a High Elf as tied to nature as Sehun was should be able to have deep underground, enclosed by barren stone. It was the same kind of sleep, Lay realised, that Sehun had when Lay had woken up in his bed, back in Rivendell, in what felt like a lifetime ago. It was the kind of sleep that came to Sehun only because he had Lay by his side, because he was allowed to hold Lay’s hand as he sought to fall asleep. Lay watched Sehun sleep for a while. Then, using his free hand, Lay removed the small white _Uilos_ from the front pocket of his tunic, and slipped it into Sehun’s. It was the only form of nature to be found in the tunnels, and Lay hoped it would bring Sehun a measure of comfort.

 

“Balrog!”

 

Kai’s scream echoed through the tunnels. Lay shot to his feet, instantly alert, unaware that he had drifted off to sleep in the first place. Next to him, Sehun was on his feet too. Light from the _Kalahui_ flooded the tunnel so strongly it was as if the tunnels were cast in daylight. Kai and Kyungsoo were already firing arrow after arrow into the approaching horned beast, but the arrows embedded harmless into the fiery leather of the balrog’s skin, doing nothing to stop its advance. The balrog flinched momentarily when the light of the Kalahui washed over him, but it steeled itself and continued its advance. Lay drew his sword, side-stepping the other rangers to put himself right at the forefront. Suho called out a few instructions, and the rangers fell into a simple formation, two rows that lined the sides of the tunnel, which would allow them to flank the balrog later. The line up on the right consisted of Lay, Kai, and Kyungsoo. On the left, Suho, Chen, Chanyeol and Baekhyun.

 

Standing in the middle of the tunnel was Sehun. He had his hand outstretched towards the balrog, and was singing a song in elvish. The melody was hauntingly beautiful, but there was no mistaking the underlying tone of murderous intent. It seemed to Lay that the light was starting to swim in front of him, but he ignored it, trusting that Sehun had full control of the light the _Kalahui_ emitted, focusing instead on the balrog that was bearing down on them. All the rangers had their swords drawn, held at the ready.

 

The balrog was upon them. It loomed above them, three times the height of a normal elf. Tongues of fire radiated out from it, burning the very air surrounding it. The balrog raised its whip and it came down, slicing through the air at amazing speed, its arc of motion aimed right at Lay. Lay held his ground until the very last moment. Only when it seemed that the whip would slice Lay into two, did Lay jump forward out of the way, the whip striking down uselessly on the floor of the tunnel where Lay had been standing on just heartbeats before.

 

On the left side of the tunnel, Suho jumped in unison with Lay, their movements mirroring each other perfectly as their swords slashed into either side of the balrog, the momentum of their jump carrying the swords in their hands, drawing deep gashes into the flaming sides of the balrog.

 

Even before his feet hit the ground a step behind the balrog, Lay already knew that though their swords had indeed made contact with the body of the balrog, their attack had not harmed it in the slightest. Nevertheless, he and Suho wheeled around the instant their heels hit the ground, closing a circle around the back of the balrog, ready to launch their next attack.

 

The sounds of battle behind them told Lay that the next two rangers in line, Chen and Kai, had launched their own attack immediately after Suho’s and Lay’s failed attempt. When Lay had fully turned around, he saw that Kai had been knocked to the ground by the whip of the balrog, his sword thrown out of his hand. Kai was on his hands and knees, desperately scrambling for his sword, the action leaving him wide open, but Kyungsoo has already stepped up from behind him, ready to cover Kai in the event of an attack from the balrog. But the attack never came. Instead, the balrog suddenly let out a blood curling scream.

 

Hope surged in Lay when he saw that Chen had sword imbedded into the leg of the balrog. Unlike Lay’s and Suho’s sword blows, which had sliced into it harmlessly, the balrog was screaming in pain from Chen’s blow. Lay realized that this was because not only Chen’s sword, but Chen himself, was encased in a white glow.

 

Sehun had finished the ending notes of his song, and the bright light from the _Kalahui_ was no longer flooding every corner of the tunnel, but had now gathered around Sehun and each of the rangers, so that they were now surrounded with blazing white light, much like how the balrog was encased in burning flame. Lay looked down at his sword. It burned with white light too. Lay instinctively knew that as long as his sword was coated in this light, the balrog would be vulnerable to his blows. This battle was no longer a one-way slaughter. The rangers now had a fighting chance. The others seemed to realize this as well, and they rounded on the balrog with renewed vigour.

 

The balrog swung his whip in a wide arc, sweeping some of them off their feet, striking them against the wall of the tunnel. But there were seven of them, and they had encircled the balrog. Every time it attacked the rangers in front of him, there were always one or two rangers in its blind spot behind him, and it received wounds from those attacks. Its bellows of pain caused it to pause in its attack momentarily, allowing the rangers who had fallen to get up again and fight. However, Lay could see that what blows they could land on the balrog was not harming it fatally. The battle was currently in their favour, but Lay knew that soon he and the other rangers would tire. On the other hand, the balrog was showing no signs of fatigue.

 

Sehun now entered the fray, his own sword drawn. He attacked the balrog directly from the front. The balrog now turned his attention solely on Sehun, ignoring the rest of them. Sehun and the balrog exchanged blow after blow, each blocking and defending in turn. Lay noticed that every time Sehun wanted to deflect a blow, he merely held up his left hand, on which he was wearing the _Kalahui_ , and the blow was warded off, as if Sehun was protected by an invisible and weightless shield in his left hand, while he swung well-calculated sword manoeuvres at the balrog with his right hand. Meanwhile, the rangers took advantage of the balrog’s pre-occupation with Sehun to rain blows on it when they got the chance, mercilessly using every possible opening, every blind spot.

 

The battle was going downhill for the balrog. It had sustained multiple wounds, and were sustaining increasingly grievous ones as the battle wore on. Lay could see the speed of the balrog’s movements slowing down. Because of this, Sehun was able to deliver blows at increasingly vital spots. Eventually, Sehun landed a direct frontal hit. He plunged his sword deep into the balrog’s chest. The balrog deafening howls filled the tunnel.

 

Lay immediately took advantage of this. With a flying leap, he landed on the shoulders of the balrog and drove his sword into the back of the balrog’s head. The balrog screamed. His hand came swiping down, and Lay was unable to evade it in time. Lay found himself flung through the air, until he collided with the ceiling of the tunnel. Pain exploded in Lay as his skull cracked. Helplessly, he plummeted to the floor, crumpling in a heap.

 

Sehun was next to him in an instant, his hand placed on the back of Lay’s head, singing a song of healing, and Lay felt the magic washing over him, bathing him in comforting warmth. Lay could feel the bones and flesh in his skull knitting together. The soothing warmth died out, and Lay opened his eyes, rubbing away the blood that obscured his vision. The balrog was fleeing down the tunnel, having seized the opportunity when Sehun had turned his attention away from it. Sehun was already giving chase. Ignoring the throbbing pain, Lay pushed himself up on his feet. Baekhyun helped him.

  
“Are you alright?” asked Baekhyun.

 

“Yes.” Lay’s voice came out as a rasp. “After them!”

 

The rangers took off in pursuit, Lay leading the way. Chanyeol had the grabbed burning torch, and it illuminated their way somewhat, though the rangers still stumbled and fell often, but adrenaline caused them to right themselves immediately and continue the chase at top speed. In the urgency of the chase, Lay barely registered that the tunnel was sloping upwards, that the air was getting lighter and fresher, until he spotted the ball of sunlight that signified the end of the tunnel. Lay’s heart leapt. There was no way the balrog could stand up to Sehun under the open sky.

 

The rangers spilled out from the tunnel. There were at a mountain top, surrounded by the vast sky, and a mountain range spilling before them. Sehun was standing there, breathing heavily. The balrog was nowhere in sight.

 

“Where did it go?” Suho asked, panting, his sweaty fringe falling into his eyes, his eyes wide as he surveyed their surroundings. 

 

“It fled into the Unseen Realm. I will give chase. Lay, look after my body.”

 

Sehun sat down on the ground where he was, cross-legged, his back straight, his hand folded in his lap. He fixed his gaze on a point in the distance, and seemed to be calming his mind, focusing.

 

“My prince!” Lay’s voice was laced with panic. He dropped to one knee, kneeling next to Sehun, reaching out a hand to Sehun, his palm resting on the prince’s chest, as if to stop him.

 

Sehun paused. His eyes flicked to Lay, his gaze asking an unspoken question, asking Lay what was wrong. And Lay himself did not know what was wrong, except that he was feeling a surge of panic that Sehun was going off alone to fight in a place that Lay could not follow. Lay was filled with a sudden impulse to plead with Sehun not to go, but in the end all he said was, “Be safe.”

 

The edges of Sehun’s lips turned up a little, and his eyes were gentle as he covered Lay’s hand on his chest with his own.

 

“Have no fear, my precious Lay. I have much power in the Unseen Realm.”

 

Sehun gently removed Lay’s hand, and focused his gaze upon the distance again. His eyes turned glassy, and Lay knew that his mind was already in the Unseen Realm. Lay stepped back from Sehun, knowing that there was nothing he could do now except wait. The other rangers gathered round, observing Sehun’s still form.

 

“What’s the Unseen Realm?” asked Chanyeol.

 

Lay paused, wondering how he should explain this. It was something he knew, but did not really know how to put into words.

 

“We dwell in the Seen Realm. But there is another realm, the Unseen one. Only spiritual beings can go there. The Ainur, the angels, can exist without corporeal form in our Seen world if they walk in the Unseen world. The balrog is an fallen angel, corrupted by Morgoth, the first dark lord, so that was why when it fled to the Unseen Realm, its physical form in this world vanished. But Prince Sehun is a High Elf, and he can go to the Unseen Realm too. Among our kind, we call him a Calaquendi elf, an Elf of Light, because he was born in the Blessed Realm of Aman, under the light of the Two Trees.” Lay paused again, considering this. “Well, actually the Two Trees were destroyed before Sehun was born, but at any rate, Prince Sehun is a Calaquendi elf, and it is said the Calaquendi elves have much power in the Unseen Realm, and though Prince Sehun has never mentioned it, I think he is powerful even amongst the Calaquendi.”

 

Even though Lay knew this, he still worried for Sehun. He glanced at Sehun’s still form, wishing that he could have gone to the Unseen Realm with him.

 

“So what do we do now?” asked Baekhyun, peering curiously at Sehun’s unseeing gaze.

 

“We stay here, and stand guard over Sehun,” said Lay, looking over at Suho. Suho nodded in agreement.

 

“We’ve left all our supplies back in the tunnels,” Suho said after they had rested for a time. “We need to go back and get them.”

 

They were all sporting varying degrees of injuries, and a quick assessment of everyone’s condition told them that Suho, Kyungsoo and Lay were the least injured among them. It was decided that Suho and Kyungsoo would go back into the tunnels to retrieve their supplies, while the rest would remain to guard over Sehun. Baekhyun, Chanyeol, Chen and Kai each sat a couple of arm’s lengths away from Sehun, back facing him, each facing a different direction, framing Sehun within a square, on the watch for approaching enemies. Lay sat within the square, facing the elven prince, his gaze never leaving Sehun. Sehun sat in perfect stillness, his face expressionless and a picture of stoic calm.

 

“What are the Two Trees you were talking about just now?” asked Chen, after some time.

 

“In ancient times, the Land of the Valar was covered in darkness, but one of the higher order angels, the Vala Yavanna sang the Two Trees into existence, to bring light into the world. The gold tree was called Laurelin, and silver tree was called Telperion. The trees brought light to the Land of the Valar for a time, until they were destroyed by the first Dark Lord and the Ungoliant. Without the light of the Two Trees, the world was plunged into darkness, but the Valar used their last flower and fruit to make the Sun and the Moon, bringing light back to the world.”

 

“The same Ungoliant that Prince Sehun is hunting now?” asked Baekhyun.

 

“Yes.”

 

Baekhyun uttered a swear word, and they all laughed.

 

“The Ungoliant fed on the sap of the Two Trees, draining them of their light. After that, she fled from the Blessed Realm to Middle Earth. She was never heard of again, and for a time, we believed her dead. There was a rumour that she devoured herself, in a bid to satisfy her own incessant hunger.”

 

“I guess we can count ourselves lucky that she didn’t show herself in the War of the Ring,” said Chen. “It was bad enough that we had to fight both Isenguard and Mordor at the same time. Imagine if we had to fight armies of giant spiders too.”

 

“There is no love between Sauron and the Ungoliant. I suppose the Ungoliant was more than happy that we destroyed Sauron. She must have been waiting for this moment. With both the first and second dark lords defeated, she must have thought that there would be no one to challenge her dominion over Middle Earth.”

 

“Except that Prince Sehun decided to show up, and ruin all her plans,” concluded Chanyeol with a wry grin.

 

Kai sighed. “We just fought the War of the Ring. I thought evil had been vanquished forever, and that all we needed to do was to root out random bands of orcs.”

 

“Well, at least no one can say our ranger watch was a boring one,” said Baekhyun.

 

Suho and Kyungsoo emerged from the tunnels. The rangers gratefully took the water skins from them, gulping water down their parched throats. They then set about attending to their various injuries, washing wounds and dressing them.

 

“Your feet and calves are burnt badly. Why didn’t you say anything?” chided Chen, as he helped Lay apply salve and bandage the affected areas.

 

Lay shrugged. He must have gotten burnt from the flames the balrog emitted when he had stood on its shoulders to stab it. It was not that he had purposely played down his injuries. It was just that he had been too preoccupied with chasing after Sehun and balrog, then worrying about Sehun fighting alone in the Unseen Realm. He hadn’t had the time to worry about the pain he had been feeling.

 

“You hit your head pretty badly in there,” said Kyungsoo, standing behind Lay as Chen worked, running his fingers over the back of Lay’s head, inspecting for any possible injuries. “Are you all right?”

 

“I’m fine. Prince Sehun healed me completely.”

 

Kyungsoo nodded, satisfied when he could indeed find no signs of any injury, then moved on to help Suho set Chanyeol’s arm in a sling.

 

“You could have died, if Prince Sehun hadn’t been on hand to heal you immediately,” said Chen. “Be more careful in future, Lay.”

 

Lay nodded, promising Chen that he would. After Chen had finished dressing Lay’s wounds, he and Kai went off in search of a water source. Baekhyun and Kyungsoo built a fire, while Suho assigned watch duties. Instead of two people doing watch at a time, Suho assigned four people to stand guard day and night, to watch the four directions around Sehun.

 

Day gave way to night, and the rangers made their camp where they were, out in the open. The stars were out, and up on the mountain top, Lay thought the stars looked much nearer, much bigger and brighter. The rangers wrapped themselves in their warm blankets, and Lay carefully draped Sehun’s blanket over him as well, making sure that he did not rock the prince’s body in the slightest as he did so. Lay looked at the star that Sehun had pointed out previously as the Silmaril. He wondered if the stars existed in the Unseen Realm too, and if they did, he hoped the Silmaril was shining down on Sehun. Suho told Lay to go sleep, that he had assigned others to be on duty, but Lay shook his head, saying that he could not sleep, that he wanted to watch over Sehun a little while longer.

 

Dawn broke, and the sun peaked over the horizon, casting the earth in its warm, bright light. And still, Sehun sat motionless. Lay fretted. The balrog was already badly injured. Surely fighting it would not take so long? Frowning, Lay carefully peeled the blanket off Sehun, and waited.

 

Suddenly, Sehun flinched. Lay sat up straighter, staring at Sehun. Sehun continued to be perfectly still, staring glassy-eyed into the distance. Had he imagined it?

 

Then, it happened again. A shudder went through Sehun.

 

Lay pushed himself up on his knees from his sitting position, kneeling as close to Sehun as he could manage without actually touching him. Sehun was starting to breathe laboriously, drawing in breaths in huge shuddering gasps. Beads of sweat started to form on his forehead. Realizing that something was amiss, the other rangers also gathered around Sehun, watching anxiously.

 

“Should we try to wake him?” asked Chanyeol.

 

“Yes, maybe if he’s in danger there, and we wake him here, he would be able to escape from his situation there, and come back here?” said Chen.

 

“I don’t know much about the Unseen Realm, but I think it would be better not to disturb Prince Sehun,” said Lay.

 

“I agree with Lay,” said Suho. “We don’t know the consequences of disturbing Prince Sehun. We might end up harming him.”

 

The rangers fell silent after that, watching Sehun quietly. Powerless to do nothing except wait, Lay felt both helpless and frustrated.

 

Suddenly, Sehun gasped and blinked. His gaze lost the glassy-eyed look, and Lay knew that Sehun was back. Relief rose like a tidal wave within him. Lay threw his arms around Sehun, catching him as Sehun slumped forward.

 

“I slew them… I slew them all!” Sehun gasped out in elvish.

 

“Them?” asked Lay, uncomprehending.

 

Sehun stood up, disentangling himself from Lay. He was still breathing heavily. He looked up into the sky, and let a high-pitched cry that seemed to echo throughout the mountains. Then, he turned back to look at Lay. His eyes were blazing. An otherworldly aura seemed to shimmer in the air around him.

 

“I could slay them, because I understand! I finally understand… what Lady Nienna was trying to tell me with her song, what Tulkas was trying to show me when he sparred with me… I understand!”

 

Sehun was speaking rapidly in elvish. Lay was perplexed. The other rangers were looking at him, wordlessly asking him with their gaze to translate what Sehun was saying, but Lay had no idea what Sehun was talking about.

 

“My prince,” asked Lay in human tongue. “What happened in the Unseen Realm?”

 

“I found the balrog. It called its friends to him. The remaining balrogs of Morgoth. They fought me, three to one. I thought I was going to die… But then I understood. I understood!” Sehun replied in human tongue, pacing back forth, agitated and excited, looking at the skies.

 

“They called the Ungoliant to them, begged her to save them. She came. She came at last. She has been hiding from me in the Unseen Realm, but she came in front of me at last!”

 

“You fought with the Ungoliant?”

 

“No. She came, she saw, and she abandoned them. Left them to be slaughtered by me. But it was enough. Just that… that… it was enough!”

 

“What was enough, my prince?”

 

“That brief meeting. It is enough!”

 

Sehun was triumphant. Lay’s mind was reeling as he struggled to make sense of Sehun’s words. The rangers stared at Sehun, uncomprehending.

 

“The last balrog. Before I slew it. I read flashes of its memory. The fell beasts of the Nazgul. I know their hiding place now.”

 

Lay remember the Nazgul, the ring-wraiths of the dark lord Sauron, and the terrible winged fell beasts they rode upon. The Nazgul had all perished with the defeat of Sauron, and Lay had assumed the fell beasts had perished with them.

 

“I go forth to slay them now. I must be quick, I must reach them before the Ungoliant gives word to them, to let them know to change their hiding place. Lay, would come with me?”

 

“Of course, my prince.”

 

“Follow me.”

 

Sehun suddenly sprinted at full speed towards the edge of the cliff. With a flying leap, he jumped clear off the side of the mountain and plummeted into the abyss below. It was the mark of how much Lay trusted Sehun, because he was just one step behind Sehun, following immediately as their feet left the safety of solid ground.

 

Lay was falling, his feet wanting to feel solid foothold underneath them, but finding only weightless air, and Lay’s body was falling… falling.... falling… then… Thump! Lay’s body collided with a mass of feathery softness. Lay reached out to grab the neck of the eagle he had landed on, to prevent himself from falling off its back. Beating its powerful wings, the eagle took him upwards into the sky. Lay saw that Sehun was already in front of him, riding on another eagle. Lay looked back. The other rangers were clustered at the edge of the cliff, watching them rising higher into sky, shock and awe written on their faces. Lay called back to them, telling them he and Sehun would back soon, asking them to wait.

 

Then he turned back to the front, his gaze trained on Sehun, ready to follow Sehun into battle.

 


	7. The Song

Lay had thought they would be heading directly back to the mountain where the rangers were waiting, but the eagles were descending gradually in spirals, and Lay could see that they were aiming to land in the forest below.

 

They had just finished battling the fell beasts that once served the Nazgul. The eagles had borne him and Sehun to a valley that was hidden in the midst of several steep mountain ranges, a place that was impossible to access on foot. When they had reached, the eagles had shrieked cries of challenge, and the fell beasts had answered. Eight of them, rising from the ground, bearing towards them with beats of their powerful wings.

 

Sehun had sung the same song, the one that encased Lay and the eagles in the blazing white light of the _Kalahui_. With his first arrow, Lay shot down a fell beast in a single shot to the heart. On the other hand, Sehun did not bother with arrows. He simply shot bolts of light that zig-zagged out of his outstretched hand like lightning. The beast he shot at fell out of the air, screaming and burning as the light consumed it like fire.

 

Then the remaining fell beasts had reached them, and it became a close quarters fight between Lay and his eagle and a couple of fell beasts. Lay’s eagle battled one of them on its own, matching the fell beast tooth for beak, claw for talon. Lay sprang on the back of the other. The fell beast shrieked and jerked around violently, trying to shake Lay off, but Lay held on. Stabbing his sword and his dagger on the beast’s back to gain handholds on the slippery leathery skin, Lay managed to claw his way to the back of the beast’s neck, where its neck joined with the main trunk of its body. Lay delivered a crushing sword blow, one that cleanly severed the beast’s spinal cord. The beast died with a last ear-piercing shriek.

 

The beast became a deadweight in the air, freewheeling towards the earth at an alarming speed, bringing Lay along with it. Lay’s eagle, having slayed the fell beast it was duelling with, shot through the air like an arrow, and reached Lay before the fell beast hit the ground. Lay leapt from the fell beast’s back onto the eagle’s, and the eagle carried him upwards, back to Sehun. Lay saw that Sehun had already slain the rest of the fell beasts, and the eagles bore them away from the valley.

 

The eagles had now landed smoothly on the shores of a lake surrounded by trees. Both Sehun and Lay slid off their backs. Sehun thanked the eagles for their help, and both Sehun and Lay bowed to them as they took off again into the air.

 

“My precious Lay,” said Sehun as they watched the eagles disappear into the distance. “I know you are anxious to return to the rangers, but it would be another day’s journey back to the mountain where they are, and I am weary. I must rest.”

 

Indeed, Lay could see fatigue weighing down on Prince Sehun. He had fought the balrog in the tunnels, battled three of them in the Unseen Realm and slew five fell beasts, all in consecutive succession, without a pause in between.

 

“Of course, my prince.”

 

Sehun took off his weapons, and stretched out on a patch of grass. Lay wished that he had a blanket that he could offer to Sehun, so that Sehun did not have to sleep on the bare ground, but Lay had nothing of the sort with him.

 

“You can sleep too, if you want. The trees have agreed to warn us of approaching enemies.”

 

“Alright, but let me build a fire first, and boil some water, and see if I can forage for some fruits.”

 

Sehun did not reply immediately, and Lay thought he had fallen asleep, but after a moment, he mumbled, “The trees say it’s all right to make the fire… but…. fallen… branches…”

 

Sehun’s voice trailed off, and Lay knew he had indeed fallen asleep this time. Lay built the fire, out of fallen branches and twigs, as Sehun had instructed. He was careful to build it in a hole that he dug in the earth, so that there was no chance of the fire spreading. He then plucked some leaves, and folded them into a makeshift pot, which he secured in shape with a couple of twigs he sharpened with his dagger. He then used more twigs to build a tripod over the fire. Filling the leaf container with water from the lake, he left the water on the tripod to boil.

 

Spotting a flock of birds pecking away at fruits in a tree nearby, Lay went closer to inspect it, and found it to be a wild apple tree. Lay easily climbed up into its branches, and plucked some of the fruit. By this time, the water was boiling, so Lay removed the leaf container from fire, and put it aside to cool.

 

A quick glance at Sehun told Lay that the prince was sleeping soundly, so Lay quickly stripped himself of his clothing and took a quick bath in the lake. By the time Lay pulled on his clothing, the water had cooled down. Lay drank some of it, then brought the container of water to where Sehun was sleeping. Though Lay hated to wake Sehun, he was painfully aware that Sehun had neither eaten or drunk anything in the past day, so he gently shook Sehun on the shoulder. Sehun peered at Lay through half-lidden eyes, and Lay lifted his head, and put it in his lap, elevating Sehun’s head so that Lay could pour the water down his lips. Sehun drank obediently, then promptly closed his eyes and fell asleep again once the last mouthful of water slid down his throat. Looking at how peaceful Sehun slept in his lap, Lay left him there, letting the prince sleep pillowed on his thigh. Sehun was sleeping the closed-eyed sleep again.

 

Lay awoke some time later, feeling warm and comfortable, as always, spooned in Xiumin’s arms. Smiling in his sleep, Lay adjusted his position, burrowing himself deeper in his lover’s embrace. As his mind drifted in and out of sleep and wakefulness, Lay wondered if it was time to get up. What were their shifts for the day? Lay tried to remember…

 

Then he did. Xiumin was dead. He was not home with Xiumin at Rivendell. He was on a quest with Prince Sehun. And that meant, the person spooning him from behind could only be… …

 

Suppressing the heart-wrenching pain at the fresh remembrance of Xiumin’s death, Lay gently removed Prince Sehun’s arm from around his waist, wondering when he had fallen asleep, when he had lain down on grass next to Sehun, instead of sitting with Sehun’s head on his lap, when Sehun had put his arm around him, and why he hadn’t woken up the instant Sehun had done that. He extricated himself from Sehun’s arms, and the action woke Sehun.

 

Sehun sat up slowly, cradling his head in his hands, as he slowly adjusted to waking up. Lay got up to wash his face and rinse his mouth at the lake. The cold water felt good on his skin. Sehun got up and did the same. Lay passed an apple to Sehun, and they ate in silence for a while, devouring four or five apples each. Then Sehun got up to take a bath in a lake, and Lay was careful to face the other way throughout the duration of Sehun’s bath.

 

When Sehun sat next to him on the grass, Lay glanced at him, and was happy to see the elven prince looking refreshed and relaxed.

 

“How are feeling, my prince?”

 

“Good. Well rested.”

 

“How do we get back to the others? Do you know where we are?”

 

“Yes, I know where they are, and where we are. We can get back to them by shadow walking in the Unseen Realm.”

 

Shadow walking? Lay had heard Sehun mention this once before, but did not understand what it meant.

 

“We can cover long distances in a short time, if we bring our bodies through the Unseen Realm. I know you are not versed in the art of shadow walking, but if you hold on to me throughout, and not let go, it should be fine. I could have brought us to the fell beasts through the Unseen Realm too, but I spent a lot of spiritual energy battling the balrogs, so I requested the aid of the eagles. Besides, I prefer fighting the fell beasts air borne. Shadow walking with your physical body is good if you want to travel long distances in a short period of time, but not good for battle. The presence of your physical body weighs you down, makes you slower in battle. That was why I did not bring my physical body with me into the Unseen Realm when I chased after the balrog. Allow me a little more to regain more of my spiritual energy. After that, I would shadow walk us back to the rangers.”

 

“Of course, my prince.”

 

It made sense now, how Sehun was able to travel between Rivendell and Lothlorien in a single night, how Sehun was able to rush down from Lothlorien to save Lay and the rangers from the spiders.

 

“My prince, when you first came back from the Unseen Realm, you kept saying you understood something. What did you understand?”

 

“Just before I left Aman, Lady Nienna taught me the Song of Making.”

 

“The Song of Making?”

 

“When Illuvator created the world, he and his angels sang the Song of Making. Lady Nienna says because I am not an angel, I would never be able to create if I sing the song, but she said that I could achieve a higher plane in battle if I could master the song, but I did not understand how. After that she got Tulkas to spar with me. Tulkas said he was not fighting me at his full powers, but at a level that made it possible for me to defeat him if I used the Song of Making effectively, but I did not know how to do it, and Tulkas ended up defeated me by a wide margin. After that sparring, I spent many long days and nights trying to figure out what Tulkas and Lady Nienna were trying to teach me, but I simply could not understand. But when I was fighting the balrogs, when I was nearly to going to die, I suddenly understood, suddenly it all made sense, and then the tide of the battle changed. I slaughtered them easily.”

 

“There was a chance that you were going to die?”

 

Lay could not stop the worry the rose up within him, despite knowing that Sehun was sitting in front of him, fine and well. Sehun smiled at Lay’s concern for him.

 

“I am sorry to worry you, my precious Lay. Be rest assured I am unscathed.”

 

There was a pause in the conversation as they both sat in companionable silence. Lay could tell that Sehun was thinking hard about something. He waited, allowing the prince the silence he needed to process his thoughts.

 

“I had pleaded with Lady Nienna for a long time to teach me the Song of Making, but she had declined to for many years. She said that once you learn something, you cannot unlearn it, and sometimes too much knowledge can be a double-edged sword, dangerous not only to your enemies, but also to yourself as well.”

 

Lay was instantly uneasy hearing this.

 

“Does Lady Nienna think that learning the Song of Making may harm you in some way?”

 

“She said that once you understand the Song of Making, you automatically know how to sing the Song of Unmaking too. But Unmaking is forbidden. The price of Unmaking something would be your own Unmaking too.”

 

Sehun frowned.

 

“I think I understand the Song of Making now, but unlike what Lady Nienna said, I cannot figure out how the Song of Unmaking should be sung.”

 

“Please never learn how to sing the Song of Unmaking, my prince. Isn’t it better that you don’t know how to sing it?”

 

Lay was surprised by how desperate he sounded.

 

“Be not worried, my precious Lay. I would never sing the Song of Unmaking. It just troubles me that since I do not know it, it might be because my understanding of the Song of Making is not deep enough. This worries me, because I believe the Song of Making is instrumental in bringing upon the downfall of the Ungoliant. Seeing how reluctant Lady Nienna was to teach me the Song of Making, she would not have taught me the song otherwise, if it were not so.”

 

“The Song of Making. What is it like?”

 

Sehun looked at Lay for a long time before answering. There was a strange look on his face, one that Lay could not read.

 

“Would you like to hear it?”

 

“Yes, my prince.”

 

“It is a song of love, because Illuvator loves all his creations. It was his love for them that brought them into existence.”

 

“I see.”

 

“It was why I didn’t understand how to use it in battle at first. I did not understand how love could fit in when I am trying to destroy my enemy.”

 

“I understand.”

 

“Do you truly understand? Do you really want to hear it?”

 

“Yes, my prince.” Lay was puzzled why Sehun would ask again.

 

Sehun stared in the space for a while longer. Lay opened his mouth again, to enquire what was wrong, but just then, Sehun started to sing.

 

Sehun’s voice was clear and melodic. The tune was beautiful. It reminded Lay of clear blue skies and sparkling streams. Lay felt the world fade away with the peculiar haunting melody. Lay felt his heartbeat throbbing in his ears. His body became warmer and warmer. His vision started to swim. Lay shook his head, trying to clear his mind. But the strange lilting song engulfed him, sweeping Lay into its hypnotic whirlpool.

 

He forced his mind to focus. Out of the haze, a figure swam into view.

 

Sehun.

 

Sehun was sitting before Lay. Lay drank in the sight of him. His hair shone golden in the sun. He was looking straight at Lay, and Lay found himself drowning in his eyes. His eyes were beautiful. They were of the purest blue. They spoke of love and devotion. Lay was struck. He had never felt so loved.

 

With sudden distress, Lay realised how far away Sehun was from him. He wanted to be close to Sehun always, as close as he could be. Lay got walked towards Sehun. He sank to his knees in front of Sehun, in between Sehun’s legs. He was filled with gratitude, for the opportunity to get so close to Sehun. He buried himself into Sehun, leaning into him, hugging him tightly. He could feel Sehun’s arms encircling him too, hugging him back, drawing him close. Lay fell into the embrace, feeling protected and loved.

 

Lay found him staring at Sehun’s face up close. It was lovely. His lips were pink and full. Lay leaned up, closing the distance between them, pressing his lips upon Sehun’s, and feeling Sehun respond in kind.

 

The song stopped.

 

Clarity of mind descended upon Lay like a tidal wave.

 

Sehun was still kissing Lay when Lay shoved him away. Sehun was thrown to the side by the force of the push. Lay shakily got to his feet. Without looking at Sehun, he turned around, and walked away.

 

“Lay!”

 

Lay ignored him, anxious to put as much distance as possible between himself and the elven prince.

 

Lay could hear Sehun coming up from behind him. He quickened his pace, but Sehun still managed to catch up, grabbing Lay by the elbow, stopping him.

 

“Lay, please. I am sorry.”

 

Lay glared at him, angrily shaking Sehun’s hand off his elbow.

 

“Did you know how I would react, when you sang the Song of Making?”

 

Sehun looked panicked, contrite, but that did not soften Lay’s anger at him.

 

“I am sorry. I just wanted to kiss you, just this once…”

 

Lay struck the elven prince across the face, hard. He whirled around, and disappeared into the forest. This time, Sehun let him leave.

 

Lay threw himself into the forest, not caring where he went, only that he kept moving, that every step took him further and further away from Sehun.

 

Eventually, Lay’s raging anger subsided. His heartbeat slowed down to normal. He leaned against a tree, stopping to catch his breath. It was only now that he had stopped moving that he realised how exhausted he was. He must have been walking for a long time. He slumped down, his back sliding down the trunk, and sat at the base of the tree.

 

Shame overwhelmed Lay. He had been disloyal to his beloved Xiumin again. How was he going face Xiumin at Dagor Dagorath?

 

Lay sat amongst the roots of the tree, and let his emotions wash over him. Then he let them go, let them disappear in the forest, allowed the forest to take them.

 

As day gave way to night, as light faded to dim twilight, Lay got up, recognising that he had to go back to Prince Sehun. He could not stay away forever. He had pledged his sword and bow to the prince until the end of the quest, after all.

 

Abruptly, Lay realised that he had no idea where he was. He had no idea how to get back to the lake where Sehun was.

 

Lay remembered after his first night with Sehun in Rivendell, how Sehun could sense his presence and know that he was not in Rivendell, how Sehun found him in his secret spot in the woods, and how he read his mind about Xiumin.

 

 _I’m lost._ Lay did not say this out loud, but rather broadcasted his thoughts to the woods and beyond.

 

_I want to go back to you, but I don’t how to. Would you come and find me?_

 

_I’m not angry at you anymore. I’m sorry I hit you._

 

 _I’m sorry, that I met Xiumin first_.

 

_I’m sorry._

 

Lay sat back down at the roots of the tree and waited.

 

After a while, Sehun strode out from the cover of the trees. His skin and hair shone alabaster under the moonlight, making him look even more ethereal than usual.

 

They stood wordlessly facing each other.

 

Eventually, Lay dropped to one knee, hand over his heart.

 

“I’m sorry, my prince. Please forgive me.”

 

Lay was not sure what the punishment of an ordinary elf striking an elven prince was. He had never bothered to find out, because he never thought that one day he would be guilty of doing it.

 

Sehun immediately helped Lay to his feet.

 

“There is nothing to forgive, my precious Lay. It is I who should apologise.”

 

There was nothing to forgive on Lay’s part too. That this happened was Lay’s fault as well. He knew of the elven prince’s feelings for him, yet he had allowed them to become close. Lay should have known better, Lay should have distanced himself from Sehun….

 

“No. Please. What happened today, it won’t happen again.”

 

Lay lowered his eyes, breaking eye contact with Sehun. He hadn’t meant to broadcast his thoughts so clearly. As he lowered his gaze, his gaze fell onto the front of Sehun’s tunic, and he saw that the elven prince still wore the white _Uilos_ bloom in his front pocket.

 

“Let’s go back to the rangers.”

 

Lay nodded.

 

“In order for us to shadow walk together, I would need to hold your hand.”

 

Sehun held out his hand awkwardly, and Lay took it.

 

“Things might seem strange in the Unseen Realm. It would feel as if the world lacks substance, but yet feels solid at the same time. You might feel disorientated, as if you were submerged underwater, but are looking at the world above the water’s surface. But please trust that I would bring you safely through it. Just hold on to my hand, and not let go no matter what.”

 

“I trust you, my prince.”

 

Sehun smiled, and Lay felt the awkwardness between him and Sehun lessen.

 

The world about them began to whirl, solidness dissolving into mist and shadow, but Lay knew he was safe with Sehun.

 


	8. The Final Battle

They found the rangers at the mountain top, anxiously awaiting their return. Lay told them about the eagles bringing them to the valley of the fell beasts, and the success of the battle. The rangers had many questions. What happened in the Unseen Realm? Was the balrog slain? Why did Prince Sehun seem like he was in difficulty? Why did Prince Sehun suddenly talk about slaying fell beasts? How did Prince Sehun call the eagles? After this was all over, could Lay help ask Prince Sehun to let each of them have a go on riding an eagle?

 

The last question had come from Chanyeol, earning him a swipe on the back of his head by Suho. Lay tried his best to answer all of their questions. Though Sehun was around, and could have easily answered the questions himself, he remained silent, sitting slightly apart from everyone else. He did not know how to interact with them, Lay realised. He was a High Elf, different from everyone else. Normal Middle Earth elves already could feel the gap between him and them. The rangers were men, and the gulf between them and Sehun was even more apparent. Though he knew that the rangers respected and admired Sehun, and Sehun himself had said he liked the rangers, they just belonged to different worlds.

 

After he answered all of the rangers’ questions, the other rangers all settled down for the night, falling asleep in front of the fire. Lay got up and settled down next to Sehun, unwilling to see Sehun apart and alone. Sehun smiled at Lay, and they lay on their backs side by side, neither talking nor touching each other. Sehun contemplated the heavens, as if the stars contained the answers to their predicament, and Lay silently accompanied him.

 

The next day, at breakfast, Sehun told them about his new plans to confront the Ungoliant.

 

“I encountered the Ungoliant in the Unseen Realm. The meeting was brief, but it was enough.”

 

“Enough for…?” ventured Suho.

 

“Enough for me to figure out her weakness. Our briefing meeting of minds was enough for me to find out what she wants most in the world. And now that I know, I will use it against her.”

 

“What is her weakness, Prince Sehun?”

 

“Her insatiable hunger. To the Ungoliant, the best meal she had ever had was when she devoured the light of the Two Trees. After that, all her other meals were tasteless compared to it. She longs for it, the opportunity to feast upon the light of the Two Trees again. And I would give it to her. She would not be able to resist. Instead of me hunting her down, I will lure her to me. We will fight not in her lair, but in a battlefield of my choosing. I will choose a place only she can access, where her legions of orcs and trolls would not be able follow.”

 

“What happened when you met the Ungoliant in the Unseen Realm?”

 

“When we met in the Unseen Realm, I was singing the Song of Making to the three balrogs. They fell under its spell one by one. They grovelled at my feet, compliant even as I raised the _Kalahui_ and smote them. They did not lift a finger to defend themselves. Just before they succumbed to the Song of Making, the balrogs cried out to the Ungoliant to save them. When she arrived, she did not help them, but instead chose to turn her backs on them, leaving them to be slaughtered by me. As she escaped, our minds met briefly. After I read her mind about her hunger to feast on the light of Two Trees again, I boasted to her of how I have been tutored by the Valar in Aman, how my skills are now equivalent to theirs, how if I wanted to, I could sing an equivalent of the Two Trees into existence if I wanted to, right here in Middle Earth.”

 

“Is that true? Can you really do that, my prince?”

 

“No. I am not an Ainur, and do not have the power to create. I am considered powerful for an elf, but my powers are nowhere comparable to the Valar or the Maiar. It was an empty boast. But what I have is the ability to create illusions. I would create an illusion of the Two Trees, make her think that I have indeed sang them into existence. Then all we need to do is wait in ambush. When she appears, we slay her.”

 

“Sounds like a plan!”

 

“Yeah, let’s end her once and for all!”

 

Both Chanyeol and Baekhyun wholeheartedly approved, and were not shy to make their views known. Suho quelled them with a stern look for their lack of etiquette.

 

“We promise to stand with you till the end, Prince Sehun,” he said more formally.

 

Chanyeol rolled his eyes at his stuffiness and imitated Suho behind his back, mouthing Suho’s words in an exaggerated fashion, making Baekhyun and Kai giggle. Kyungsoo was not so amused. He poked Chanyeol in the ribs, causing him to yelp in pain.

 

“Have you selected your battleground, my prince?”

 

“Yes, I spoke with Gwaihir, the Great Eagle who bore me when we battling the fell beasts. He spoke of two great trees that grow upon the peak of the tallest mountain of the mountain range that lies to the west of the Sea of Rhun. It should be easy for me to cloak those two trees in illusions of light.”

 

It was decided then, Lay realised. It was all to come to an end soon. It was going to be them against the Ungoliant, and only one side would remain standing at the end of it.

 

Much to Chanyeol’s delight, Sehun decided that travelling to the Rhun mountain range by foot would take too much time. Since he could only bring one person to shadow walk with him at a time, and anyway, men were unable to withstand the whispers of the Unseen Realm, Sehun decided to beg the aid of the eagles once again. While Chanyeol was beside himself with glee, Baekhyun was a lot less thrilled. He was afraid of heights.

 

The eagles arrived shortly, landing on the mountain gracefully, their feet hitting the ground with loud thumps. Sehun bowed to them respectfully. Lay quickly bowed too, and the other rangers followed suit awkwardly. Sehun introduced each of the eagles to them, saying their names in turn. In response, Lay introduced the rangers to the eagles as well.

 

There were eight eagles, one for each of them. Lay was paired with the same eagle that carried him when they had battled the fell beasts. Lay learnt that his name was Landroval.

 

The eagles took to the air. Baekhyun hugging his eagle tightly, uncharacteristically quiet. He looked like he was going to be sick. On the other hand, Chanyeol whooped with joy as his eagle took him on flying nosedives just for the fun of it. Kai and Chen too seemed to be enjoying themselves, both of them laughing with the joy of being airborne. Lay liked the wind in his face, and the passing scenery below him, and joy of seemingly being able to fly to the clouds, the sun, and beyond. Sehun led the way, with Gwaihir, and they flew in a V-shaped formation.

 

They landed on a mountain top. They slid off the backs of the eagles, the rangers following Sehun’s and Lay’s example to bow to the eagles in gratitude. Chanyeol gave his eagle an extra hug around the neck. The eagles bowed back to Sehun, and took to the air.

 

Lay walked around the peak of the mountain. Snow-capped mountains seemed to drop below them, and continue into the distance, as far as the eye could see. Blankets of puffy white clouds gathered at the base where the sky and the earth met, blurring the boundaries between the two. Lay lightly bounded on top a rock, and the slightly higher vantage allowed him to see further, and in between the mountain peaks and parted clouds, he could see the Sea of Rhun sparkling in the distance.

 

In the very centre of the mountain top were two great trees. They were beautiful to behold. With thick trunks and full crowns of leaves, both trees seem to reach to the heavens. The rangers walked circles around the trees, admiring them.

 

“How did these trees manage to grow up here, in the bare rock, amidst the snowy slopes?”  asked Chen.

 

To everyone’s surprise, Sehun actually answered the question.

 

“The trees grow here with the blessing of the Vala Yavanna. This was not always a mountain range. In the First Age, the land here was flat, and the growth here was bountiful. But the face of the world changed with the Great Wars. Land was torn apart, seas were formed, and mountains were raised. But Yavanna blessed these trees with everlasting growth and fertility, so that they would grow well always, no matter how much the landscape changed, because these were the first two trees planted by the first elves, after Illuvator first woke them up under the stars. These were the first two trees they planted for fruit, when they first discovered the cycle of life, when that realised that instead of throwing the seeds away after the eating the fruit, if they buried the seeds in the ground, they would grow into trees in time to come.”

 

Sehun sprang lightly up into the lower branches of the trees. He moved deftly amongst the branches of the tree, plucking its fruit and placing them into his satchel. When he had plucked eight of them, he stepped off the branch he was standing on, and landed soundlessly on the ground next to Lay. He gave out the fruit, one for each of them. Lay looked at the fruit in his hand. It was a red apple, perfectly round in form, its skin shiny and unblemished, a deep rosy red. Lay bit into the fruit. The flesh of the fruit was firm and crisp, and its taste sweet.  

 

“Wow, I never knew an apple could taste so good!”

 

“That’s cos you never eat fruits in the first place.”

 

“Hey, I do, too!”

 

“Really? Name me the last time you ate a fruit, not counting right now.”

 

“… …”

 

Sehun was looking up in the branches of the second tree. Before he could lift himself up into its branches, Lay offered, “Let me do it, my prince.”

 

Sehun nodded, and Lay leapt lightly into the tree, and plucked eight fruits, putting them into his satchel like Sehun had done. Then, he too stepped off the branch, which was a good two metres above the ground. He landed lightly and soundlessly in between Kai and Chanyeol.

 

Kai looked at Lay with awe and admiration, but Chanyeol raised an eyebrow at Lay.

 

“You know we hate you when you do that, right?”

 

Kyungsoo delivered a well-aimed kick at Chanyeol’s shin, and Chanyeol yelped in pain, cradling his foot.

 

Lay handed out the fruit, green apples this time. Lay sat down next to Sehun, upon one of the long winding roots of the tree. They bit into their apples, and Lay liked the sour tartness of the fruit. Despite the rangers teasing Kai, Lay thought he was right. An apple never tasted so good.

 

“This reminds me of home,” Sehun said quietly to Lay in elvish.

 

Lay looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

 

“The fruits here in Middle Earth, they just don’t taste the same. But this apple, and the one before, they taste like how apples taste back in Aman.”

 

“Do you miss Aman?”

 

“There’s a green apple tree, just like this one, growing outside my window. When I was young, after Mother had put me to bed, and closed my bedroom door, I would sneak out of the window and climb into the branches of the tree. The branches connected to Lu Han’s room too. Lu Han would sneak out of his bedroom at night too, and we would sit in the branches of the tree together, and watch the stars, and eat apples together, and Lu Han would tell me stories. Lu Han always told the best stories.”

 

“What kind of stories were they?”

 

“Stories he made up on the spot. Stories of dragons and knights, kings and queens, princes and princess. Stories of huntsmen and woodcutters, farmers and milkmaids, cobblers and weavers. Stories of the sea, of the deeps, of the mountains and the stars. Some of his stories happened in Middle Earth. I used to wonder what Middle Earth was like. I used to wish I could see it.”

 

“Is Middle Earth what you expected it to be?”

 

“No. The real Middle Earth is so different from the Middle Earth in Lu Han’s stories. But I like it. It’s beautiful, in its own way. And the people here are beautiful too, in their own fashion.”

 

Lay looked over at the rangers. Suho was trying to lecture everyone on how they had to be on the alert and be prepared for enemies at all times, but no one was really listening. Kai was wondering if he could step off a branch of the tree and not make a single sound, or even need to bend his knees as he landed, like Sehun and Lay, if he practised hard enough, and Chen was telling him sternly not to try. Meanwhile, Kyungsoo had picked up a fallen tree branch was threatening Chanyeol with it. Chanyeol was trying to hide behind Baekhyun, but Baekhyun merely brushed him off. Instead of helping protect Chanyeol from Kyungsoo, he was trying to see if he could use his shoe to knock an apple or two out of the tree, as even the lowest branch of the tree was too high for him to climb up to.

 

“Are you sure about that?” Lay asked, raising an amused eyebrow at the rangers, and to Lay’s surprise, Sehun laughed. Sehun had a bright and tinkling laughter, and Lay realised it was the first time he was hearing it. He liked it.

 

Sehun held out his hand, and Baekhyun’s shoe abruptly stopped in mid-trajectory. The rangers all stopped what they were doing, gaping at the shoe that was hanging in mid-air. Sehun lowered his hand, and the shoe floated down gently, landing quietly at Baekhyun’s feet.

 

Lay got up and walked to Baekhyun’s side.

 

“Prince Sehun would rather not have things thrown at the trees,” he explained quietly to Baekhyun. “He’s afraid that some twigs or leaves might get damaged.”

 

“Oh right,” said Baekhyun, rubbing the back of his neck. He called out good-naturedly to Sehun. “Sorry! I forgot! Erm… that you speak with trees and know their feelings… erm… that didn’t sound right, did it?”

 

Everyone waited nervously for Sehun’s reaction. To everyone’s relief, Sehun smiled at Baekhyun. It was the first time he smiled at anyone of them. The rangers broke out into smiles as well, and started teasing Baekhyun good-naturedly. Lay climbed up into the trees once more, to pluck more apples for the hungry rangers. As he moved around deftly in the tree, he heard Chen asking Sehun if they could light a fire.

 

“It’s really cold for us on the mountain top,” Chen explained to Sehun.

 

Sehun smiled, closed his eyes for a while, before he conveyed the trees’ acquiescence. Lay smiled to himself. It was rare for someone other than Suho to address Sehun directly, without asking Lay to be the go-between.

 

They slept a night on the mountain top, warmed by the fire, their thick cloaks and warm blankets wrapped around them. The next morning, they all gathered round as Sehun stood at the edge of the mountain top, held up his left hand, and started to sing. Light flared from the _Kalahui_. Clouds seemed to spill out from his raised hand. They gathered and spun, engulfing the mountain peak in a spinning whirl of clouds. Sehun’s song took an entire morning to finish. When he was done, Lay and the rangers gathered at the peak’s edge. The day before, Lay could see the mountain ranges dropping before him. Today, he could see nothing but a thick cloud cover. The other rangers also hovered at the mountain’s edge, looking suitably impressed.

 

“I have cut off this mountain peak from the rest of Middle Earth,” Sehun explained to all of them. “No one can find us now. No bird may fly here, no one will be able to climb the mountain to reach us. The only way to reach this place would be to shadow walk through the Unseen Realm.”

 

“The Ungoliant can shadow walk, but her armies of orcs and trolls will not be able to,” said Lay, understanding Sehun’s intention at once. “The cloud cover forces her to face us alone.”

 

Creating the cloud cover tired Sehun, and he rested for the remainder of the day. At dawn the next day, he stood in front of the two trees, at an equal distance from either of them, stretched out both arms, and started to sing. For a long time, nothing seemed to happened. Then, Lay thought he could see a ball of golden ball of light glowing in the middle of the red apple tree. It took a while, because its lighter sliver colour was harder to see, but Lay realised that there was a ball of silver light growing at the same speed in the green apple tree as well. Both balls of light gradually grew bigger and bigger, until they enveloped both trees, from crown to roots. The branches, leaves, bark, flowers and fruits of the red apple turned golden, while those of the green apple tree turned silver. As Sehun continued to sing, the light emanating of the trees grew stronger and stronger in intensity, until the entire world flooded with the brightness of their light. Half of the world where the red apple tree stood, from the tip of the centre of the sky to the top of the cloud bank, was bathed in a hemisphere of warm golden light. The other half of the world was bathed in silver light. It was beautiful. Lay wondered what Aman must have looked like, in the time of the Two Trees.

 

Sehun finished the song. He slumped down on the ground, on his hands and knees. Lay quickly went to his side, helping him up to his feet. Sehun closed his eyes in concentration, holding up his left hand. By now, Lay recognised the song Sehun sang. Streams of white light poured out from the _Kalahui_ , enveloping the rangers, and their weapons, just like when they battled the balrog.

 

“The light from the illusion of the Two Trees shines brightly in the Unseen Realm, even more brightly than it does here. The Ungoliant would have seen their light by now. As we speak, she comes for us. Depending on her location, she might appear anytime now, or eight hours from now, if she’s at the furthest point of Middle Earth from here.”

 

“When she comes, we will be ready,” said Suho, his face determined.

 

“Creating the illusion used a lot of my spiritual energy. Let me try to get as much rest as possible, between now and the time of her coming.”

 

“Please go ahead and rest, Prince Sehun. We will stand watch for the Ungoliant,” said Suho.

 

 Sehun was about to lie down where he stood, but Lay was quick to spread out Sehun’s blanket for him, so that the elven prince need not lie down on bare rock. On Suho’s command, the rangers spread out in a circle around the two trees, on the watch for the Ungoliant. Lay stood next to Sehun. Sehun was sleeping in open-eyed elven sleep.

 

Tension hung heavy in the air while they waited. After a while, Suho gave the command to alternate the rangers between standing and sitting. Taking turns, three of them stood, while four of them sat, conserving their energy for the battle ahead. But at all times, their eyes and ears of all seven of them were ever watchful, their weapons at the ready. Rays of white light emanated from each of them, burning the air around them.

 

She appeared silently, six hours later. Out of the thin air. A mass of black legs, moving soundlessly and rapidly over the edge of the mountain and onto the peak.

 

“She’s here!”

 

Kai’s roar alerted all of them. The rest of the rangers ran around the tree to Kai’s and Lay’s side. Kai and Lay already had their arrows nocked and trained on the approaching menace.

 

Sehun was already on his feet too, the _Kalahui_ shining like a star. The rangers flanked him on his right and left, all of them with their arrows nocked.

 

The Ungoliant was massive, twice as big as the giant spiders they had encountered before. Despite her gargartuan size, she moved with speed and dexterity, in near absolute silence. She moved in a mass of undulating hairy legs. At any one time, some of her legs clawed forward, pressing on the ground before it, while her other legs further back pushed upwards, lifting the legs off the ground in united bursts of forward speed. She bore down on them, always progressing with many legs moving at once, her abdomen hanging suspended above the ground, her fangs bared and facing them, the pincers on the edge of her feelers clicking. Among the mass of metallic black fur, Lay could make out her eight eyes, equally black as the rest of its body, almost indistinguishable from the rest of her black body but for the fact that they blinked, small and beady, but keen and fierce.

 

“Fire!”

 

The Ungoliant had reached firing range, and at Suho’s command, seven arrows flew up in the air in a wide arc, white light trailing in the air behind them. The arrows all found their target, piercing the Ungoliant in her abdomen. Lay knew the arrows would have bounced off her thick armour-like exoskeleton if not for the white light of the _Kalahui_ coating the arrows. Despite this, the Ungoliant did not even flinch.  The arrows stuck out of her abdomen harmlessly, like tiny little pins embedded in an incredibly large and grotesque pin cushion. Even so, all the rangers had their arrows nocked again, and they fired a second volley upon Suho’s command.

 

In the wake of their second volley, Sehun attacked, launching himself forward in a flying leap, one step behind the arrows.

 

“Hold fire!” screamed Suho. They could not risk an arrow accidentally hitting Sehun.

 

This time, the Ungoliant did not continue her advance. She stopped, rearing up her front legs, fangs and pincers as the ready as Sehun descended in an flying arc in the air towards her. The arrows landed on her first, piercing her in her stomach. A second later, Sehun was upon her, sword raised high above his head in a two-handed grip, his cloak whipping behind him. As he landed, his sword also came slicing down, matching the arc of his descend. He did not manage to land a hit. The Ungoliant swatted him aside with her massive front leg, and Sehun was thrown to left.

 

Even as he was flung to the side, a jet of light shot out of the _Kalahui_. Like a bolt of lightning, it struck the Ungoliant in one of her eyes. The Ungoliant howled with pain, her cry so high-pitched that it seemed to pierce Lay’s eardrums. In mid-air, Sehun took control of his descent, no longer free-falling, but landing on the ground in a controlled somersault. Sehun’s feet barely touched the ground before he launched himself in the air again, narrowly missing one of the Ungoliant’s feet that came crashing down like a massive falling tree trunk upon the spot that Sehun been in only a heartbeat ago. Sehun landed deftly on the other side of the Ungoliant, slicing a deep gash through her legs with his sword as he did so. The sword left an arc of white light in its wake.

 

Sehun was moving so quickly that it was inhuman, faster than any man, elf, dwarf or hobbit was capable of. One instant, he was on the left on the Ungoliant, the next instant, he was on her right. The Ungoliant was forced to repeatedly swing herself to and fro, as she tried to keep her pincers and fangs trained on Sehun. He darted so swiftly in and out of the Ungoliant’s many legs, Lay was barely able to keep his eyes trained on him, if not for the bright light of the Kalahui, shining like a white star amidst the golden and silver light of the Two Trees, identifying Sehun’s position at all times.

 

It was useless trying to cover Sehun with their bow and arrows. Sehun was moving too quickly for them to be able to aim at the Ungoliant without the risk of hitting him. Suho seemed to come to this conclusion at the same time as Lay.

 

“Sword!”

 

At Suho’s command, all the rangers abandoned their bows, letting them clatter to the ground. In unison, they drew their swords.

 

“Charge!”

 

With their swords aloft, the rangers ran forward, charging in on the Ungoliant. They spread out in a circle around it, attacking whatever parts of the Ungoliant they could land solid hits on. Their swords slashed into the thick hairy legs of the giant spider, leaving deep gashes on them, but it was like they were using their swords to slash the trunk of a tree. Visible marks were left on it, but they did not seem to hurt it. The Ungoliant completely ignored them, like how a giant ignores an ant bite. She focused her attention solely on Sehun. Nonetheless, the rangers launched themselves into the fight, determined to help Sehun wound the Ungoliant in whatever small ways they could. As the Ungoliant repeatedly swung herself around, trying to catch Sehun, the rangers were repeatedly hit and thrown off their feet by the Ungoliant’s massive legs. But every time, they picked themselves up and attacked again. Being lighter on his feet, Lay fared slightly better than his human counterparts, but even he had trouble evading the erratic movements of the many towering legs.

 

Suddenly, the Ungoliant screeched. Her inhuman cry seeming to render the heavens apart. Sehun had scored a decisive hit, managing to sever one of her massive front legs. The Ungoliant now had seven legs, instead of eight. A cry of triumph rang out from the rangers. Sehun did not give the Ungoliant even a moment of reprieve. Bright light struck out from the _Kalahui_ , hitting the spider on the raw wound where her leg had just been cut off, burning it with flames of white fire.

 

The Ungoliant shrieked. Her other front leg came crashing down. Sehun, intent on holding the _Kalahui’s_ fire steady on the wound, neglected to dodge. For a heart stopping moment, it seemed to Lay that the leg would hit Sehun, but Suho, Kai, Chen and Kyungsoo leapt to Sehun’s defence. The leg’s descent was halted by their four swords. The Ungoliant’s leg was pressing upon them, but the four rangers held their ground, their swords trembling badly at the force of keeping her leg at bay.

 

The fact that the Ungoliant’s leg was stuck in a strength tussle with the four rangers, meant that the Ungoliant was keeping that leg steady, unmoving. Lay decided to take advantage of that. In a flying leap, Lay used Suho’s shoulder as a stepping stone to deftly climb up the leg of the Ungoliant. In his peripheral vision, Lay could see Chanyeol lifting Baekhyun up, so that Baekhyun could climb up the leg too. As Lay clawed his way up the spider’s hairy leg, the sound of Baekhyun’s laboured breathing told Lay that Baekhyun was just one step behind him. Lay reached the intersecting joint where the spider’s leg met her body. Lay hacked away at the joint. Next to Lay, Baekhyun started hacking too, from the other end. It took several blows from each of them, and then the leg was falling off the spider, Lay and Baekhyun clinging onto the severed leg as the ground rose to meet them. Just before they hit the ground, Lay grabbed Baekhyun by the waist and jumped off, so that they landed on the ground in a controlled jump, rather than thudding to the ground together with the leg.

 

The Ungoliant was down to six legs now. Sehun bathed her face in white fire, burning her eyes. The fire affected her vision, the Ungoliant was attacking randomly now, unable to see her enemies, her movements desperate. Sehun evaded her attacks, darting out of her reach with ease, inflicting grievous wounds on her with his flaming sword as he did so, all the while keep the light of the _Kalahui_ steady on her eyes even as he moved about constantly, burning them with his white fire.

 

Because the Ungoliant was moving around too much and too erratically, the rangers could not launch another co-ordinated attack to bring down one of her legs like they just had, so they resumed hitting whatever part of her they could land blows on, waiting for the next opportunity. Lay noticed that unlike before, the Ungoliant was starting to pay attention to their attacks, starting to strike back at the rangers, trying to capture them.

 

It took a while, but Lay realised that Sehun had started singing. Lay’s strength had been waning with the long duration of the battle, and beside him, he could see that the rangers were starting to tire too. But Sehun’s song gave Lay strength, filled him with hope. It made feel like they could defeat the Ungoliant, as long as they stood together united. The song filled him with love. Love for his fellow rangers, love for Sehun, renewing his resolve to fight for them, to protect them from harm. It was the song of love and hope. It was the Song of Making.

 

Lay could tell the song was having a similar effect on the other rangers too, giving them the strength to fight on as well. The music seemed to have no effect on the Ungoliant at all. Sehun had described what happened when he had sung the Song of Making to the balrogs in the Unseen Realm. The balrogs had been overcome by feelings of remorse, reminded of Illuvator’s love for them at the time of their creation, and had no more will to fight. They had prostrated at Sehun’s feet, making no move to defend themselves even as Sehun ended them one by one with his sword. Unfortunately, the song was not having the same effect on the Ungoliant.

 

With a roar, the Ungoliant managed to land a hit on Sehun, swiping him off his feet. The moment of Sehun’s broken concentration was enough for the beam of white light connecting the _Kalahui_ to Ungoliant’s eyes to be cut off. Finally regaining her ability to see, the Ungoliant fixed her beady eyes upon the rangers. With frightening speed, she bore down upon Baekhyun, the one nearest to her. All the other rangers, including Lay, rushed to Baekhyun’s side.

 

The Ungoliant was bearing down upon Baekhyun, her pincers extended. But at the very last moment, she suddenly swerved, turning upon Lay instead. Everyone had been in the process of covering Baekhyun, and it took everyone by surprise when her pincers suddenly shot out in another direction, and Lay was caught in them.

 

Lay had been her real target all along.

 

The rangers gave out cries of dismay, and quickly rushed towards Lay, but it was too late. Lay was already hoisted in the air, held aloft in the middle of her pincers. Lay struggled, hacking desperately at the pincer that held him with his sword, but even then he could tell it was too late. He would not be able to inflict enough damage on the Ungoliant’s pincer in time. Meanwhile, the pincer was already bearing Lay towards the maw of the Ungoliant, where its fangs were.

 

This was it, Lay realised. The moment when it would all end for him. The moment that would reunite him with Xiumin.

 

Suddenly, a note reverberated in the air. It rang out like a bell, deep and sonorous, striking fear in the hearts of all. The sound penetrated through Lay’s entire being, making his blood run cold, and it seemed to Lay that the note heralded his doom.

 

With a cry, the Ungoliant dropped Lay. The song rendered Lay motionless. He lay on the ground, unable to move, his will to fight, or to move, or even to live, crushed by the song. The song was having the same effect on the other rangers. They were all on their hands and knees now, cowering as if their shoulders were carrying the weight of the world.

 

But the song was having the most impact on the Ungoliant. She was screaming, her entire massive body convulsing in pain. The uncontrollable twitching mess of her six remaining legs was a revolting sight to behold. Even as she was pinned to the ground with the weight of the song, Sehun sent forth a burst of white light from the Kalahui, brighter and bigger than ever before, and the entire Ungoliant was set on fire, tongues of white fire burning brightly on every part of her body, and the Ungoliant burnt just as brightly as the Two Trees, the burning mass of white light rivalling the silver and golden light.

 

It took a long time, but eventually, the Ungoliant’s struggling became weaker and weaker, until they were no more. The Ungoliant lay still and lifeless. Sehun sang the last note of his song, and let the white fire burn out and dissipate.

 

The rangers took a while to recover from the effects of the song, but eventually they came back to their normal frames of mind, and the reality of what had just happened caught with them. They burst into shouts of joy, running towards one another, jumping and hugging.

 

Lay ran towards Sehun, happy and triumphant, but he stopped in his tracks. There was no trace of the joy of victory on Sehun’s face. Sehun was looking at Lay, his expression a mixture of shock, fear, sadness, but above all, resignation.

 

Xiumin had the same look just before he died.

 

Alarmed, Lay ran up to Sehun, placing both his hands on Sehun’s shoulders.

 

“My prince, are you hurt?” asked Lay anxiously in elvish, looking Sehun up and down.

 

Sehun’s clothes were torn and ragged, and his whole body was splattered with the dark black blood of the Ungoliant. His hair, normally immaculate and glossy, clung to his head in sweaty clumps. He was covered in cuts and bruises, but as far as Lay could tell, there was no grievous wound, no major injury. Despite this, Sehun’s face was deathly pale.

 

“I understand.”

 

Prince Sehun’s voice was a whisper.

 

Lay was perplexed.

 

“What did you understand, my prince?”

 

“The Song of Unmaking.”

 

What?

 

No.

 

It couldn’t be.

 

“Lady Nienna said that once you know the Song of Making, you automatically understand the Song of Unmaking. I did not see how. I could not understand. But when I thought the Ungoliant was going to kill you, I suddenly understood. It was actually so simple. The difference between the Song of Making and the Song of Unmaking, it was actually such a simple difference. I should have figured it out sooner.”

 

Horror washed over Lay. No, this couldn’t be happening.

 

Sehun swooned, falling forward into Lay’s arms. Lay quickly caught him. Sehun did not seem to be capable of supporting his own weight. Gently, Lay half supported, half lowered Sehun, until Sehun was lying on the ground, his head and shoulders supported Lay’s arms.

 

“The Song of Unmaking. I had spent so many nights thinking about it, trying to understand, trying to figure it out. The answer was actually so simple. Just a change of intent, a deepening of the notes, a reversal of the rhythm… …”

 

“No!” Lay’s eyes were blurred by the tears that started to form in his eyes. His voice was choked. “No! You promised me you would never sing it! Tell me you didn’t sing it!”

 

Lay was shouting now, desperation pouring out in his words, instantly cutting through the rangers’ celebration. They fell silent immediately, realising that something was amiss.

 

The rangers crowded around, asking Lay what was wrong. Lay ignored them, continuing his desperate interrogation to Sehun in elvish.

 

“The Ungoliant. She died because you burnt her with fire from the _Kalahui_ , right? That’s how she died! Tell me that’s how she died! Say it, please. Say it’s because of the _Kalahui_ , and not because, not because you sang…”

 

Lay could not bear to finish his sentence.

 

“It was both.” Sehun’s voice was so weak, so soft, that it was barely a whisper, but the tone of finality in it was cold and strong. “The fire of _Kalahui_ , and the Song of Unmaking. It was difficult. Doing both at the same time. I never made such a strong fire with the Kalahui before. I poured my entire life’s essence into the fire. I didn’t need my life’s essence anymore anyway, since I already started the Song of Unmaking. I never controlled such a large fire before, and it took all my concentration, all my willpower, and on top of that, I had to sing the Song of Unmaking at the same time. The Song of Unmaking is such a difficult song to sing, a single note out of place, a distracted chord, the slightest mis-emphasis of spiritual energy, and the whole song would fall apart. It was so difficult to do both, but I did it. I understand now. Why Illuvator blessed me with so much spiritual power at birth. Why Lady Nienna handpicked me as her student. Everything Lady Nienna ever trained me for, it was for this moment in my life, so that I could do both at the same time, control the fire of the _Kalahui_ enhanced with my life’s essence and the sing the Song of Unmaking at the same time, and I could do it. I did it. I think Lady Nienna would be proud of me…”

 

Sehun was rambling. HIs voice was weak, and his face pale, but even then he looked happy, that he had fulfilled his life’s purpose, that he had made his teacher proud.

 

“No!” Lay could not accept this, refused to accept this. “You promised me, that you would never sing it!”

 

“I had to. She was going to kill you. A moment later, and you would have died. I was too proud, too arrogant. When our minds met in the Unseen Realm, I gloated that I had read her mind, that I had discovered her weakness. But at the same time, she had discovered my weakness too, and I hadn’t even known it.”

 

Lay did not need to ask what Prince Sehun’s weakness was. Lay touched his forehead to Sehun’s, weeping openly now.

 

“What’s wrong with him?” Suho demanded, worry making his tone harsh and forceful.

 

“The lights of the Two Trees… they’re fading…” said Kyungsoo.

 

“Not only that… the cloud cover, it’s dissolving too…” Chanyeol added.

 

“Eagles! Look! Eagles in the distance, flying towards us,” said Kai.

 

“The eagles are coming!” said Chen. “We can bring Prince Sehun to seek aid. The eagles can carry us to Minas Tirith. They say Queen Arwen well versed in the arts of healing…”

 

“To Lothlorien!” said Suho. “The Lady Galadriel hasn’t left Middle Earth for the Undying Lands yet, has she?”

 

Hope flared within Lay. Lay had no idea whether Lady Galadriel had embarked on the Straight Road yet or not, but it was worth a try. Lady Galadriel was a High Elf like Sehun. She would know what to do.

 

“My prince, the eagles are coming,” said Lay urgently to Sehun in elvish. “Please, hold on a while longer. We can bring you to Lothlorien, to Lady Galadriel. She would save you.”

 

Sehun didn’t seem to register Lay’s words. He reached up, and cupped Lay’s cheek. His hand felt cold.

 

“My precious Lay, I don’t want leave you. I wish I could be by your side, to spend the ages with you until Dagor Dagorath... ...”

 

“Yes. We said we would go to the Shire together, and the Misty Mountains… You haven’t met with a hobbit yet, or a dwarf. My prince, you have to hold on. Please. There has got to be a way.”

 

“I can’t bear the thought of you facing the ages all alone, the only elf left in Middle Earth. Would you not go to Aman?”

 

“No. I would not go. If you don’t want to leave me alone here, then you would just have to stay with me.”

 

Lay would not leave Middle Earth.

 

He would not leave Xiumin’s grave.

 

Or Sehun’s.

 

“My parents... my brothers... Lady Nienna... I wish I could see them... ... One last time...”

 

“You’ll see them again, my prince. I promise you I’ll find a way. You just have to hold on.”

 

Why was Sehun already giving up? They could find a way. They had to find a way.

 

Lay could not stop the tears from rolling down his cheeks.

 

“My precious Lay, please don’t cry. We’ll meet again, at Dagor Dagorath. Please, take good care of yourself until then, until we meet again.”

 

“No… my prince… no, please. It can’t end like this… There has got to something we can do to help you…”

 

“You’ll meet Xiumin at Dagor Dagorath too. We’ll both be waiting for you.”

 

Sehun’s hand slipped from Lay’s face, as if he had not even the energy to hold it there. Lay reached for the fallen hand, holding it in his own.

 

“When we meet again, could you... could you not choose Xiumin right away? Just one moment, is all I ask for. One moment to think of how much I love you, how much I have done for you... ...Just one moment, before you choose...”

 

“My prince, please…”

 

The eagles landed on the mountain top next to them.

 

“They’re here!” said Suho. “Come, Lay, we’ll help you move him…”

 

But instinctively, Lay knew it was already too late. Sehun was already closing his eyes. As his eyes closed, the last fading light of the Two Trees went out.

 

For the second time in his life, Lay watched as the person he loved die, watched as life left the body of the person he was holding, until all that remained was a lifeless body in his arms.

 


	9. The Light of the Night

Suho sank to one knee. One by one, the other rangers dropped to their knees too. The eagles bowed their heads. Their last tribute to Sehun, the elven prince who had given his life to rid the world of the evil of the Ungoliant.

 

Meanwhile, Lay held onto Sehun’s lifeless body, unable to let go, sobs wrecking his entire body.

 

Above them, the clouds in the heavens parted. A beam of warm golden light shone through, shining down on Sehun and Lay.

 

The rangers looked up in the sky in awe.

 

Lay looked up too, wondering at this new phenomenon, tightening his hold on Sehun’s body.

 

_Lay, my child, it is alright. You can let go._

 

It was not an audible voice that spoke to him. Rather, it was a voice that spoke directly into Lay’s mind. The voice belonged to Illuvator, the Creator. Lay did not know how he knew, he just did.

 

Lay let go of Sehun, gently resting his head on the ground. He got up and stepped back, leaving Sehun’s body lying in the middle of the round beam of light.

 

Almost immediately after Lay had stepped back, Sehun’s body started to rise within the beam of light. Lay watched helplessly as Sehun’s body disappeared into the sky, until it became a tiny speck that was too small to see.

 

Baekhyun wrapped Lay in a hug. Suho hugged Lay from the back too. In their arms, Lay wept, unconscious of the world beyond, unaware of the passage of the time. All that Lay was aware of was that Sehun was gone. He would never see Sehun again, never hear his voice, never get to hold him. Lay could not believe this. Sehun was infallible, invincible. Sehun always had all the answers. Sehun always knew what to do. Sehun was always there. For Lay. Even though Lay had always rejected him. Even though Lay always held him at arm’s length, never too close, but never too far either. Sehun never held it against Lay, but loved Lay anyway, accepting whatever Lay could give, whatever Lay was comfortable with.

 

Lay missed him. Lay did not know what he was going to do without him. But it was too late. Sehun was gone. Lay could not even bury his body.

 

Through the sound of his own sobs, Lay was vaguely aware of the other rangers speaking to him. He vaguely heard their voices in the background, but his own grief and his own tears consumed him, and he could not pay any attention to anything else. But after some time, he eventually became aware of Baekhyun speaking softly to him.

 

“Lay, everything is going to be alright. We are right here with you.”

 

“You will always have us, Lay,” said Suho.

 

The other rangers concurred with Suho and Baekhyun, each of them reassuring Lay that they were with him, would always be with him.

 

Lay’s sobs subsided at last. Even then, he stayed a long time in Baekhyun’s and Suho’s arms. They let him stay there. The other rangers and the eagles watched on, giving Lay as much time as he needed.

 

Now that Lay was calmer, the other rangers started discussing amongst themselves, trying to make sense of what had just happened.

 

“What happened to Prince Sehun?”

 

“I thought the battle against the Ungoliant had gone well. Prince Sehun didn’t look like he got injured…”

 

“What was that beam of light?”

 

Lay explained about the Song of Unmaking, how it could unmake something, but the price of that was the singer’s own unmaking. But Sehun was only an elf, and not an Ainur, and just singing the Song of Unmaking was not powerful enough to destroy the Ungoliant, so Sehun had also poured his own life essence into the final fire. Sauron had done the same thing when creating the One Ring. He had made the One Ring powerful by pouring his own life’s essence into it. But in Sauron’s case, he had kept a little of his life’s essence, so that his soul and his eye remained even after the One Ring was taken from him. In Sehun’s case, he had poured his entire life’s essence into the fire, without holding any of it back. Either action of singing the Song of Unmaking or using up his life’s essence would have cost Sehun his life, and he had done both, without hesitation.

 

Though it hurt Lay to talk about it, he knew the rangers deserved a proper explanation, after all that they had done for Sehun, following his instructions without hesitation and fighting alongside him with the utmost bravery and loyalty. Though the eagles merely watched, Lay knew they understood every word he said.

 

There was a long period of silence after Lay finished, as everyone took some time to absorb Lay’s words. Suho eventually got to his feet, and bowed to Gwaihir.

 

“If it is not too much to ask, would you carry us back to Minas Tirith?”

 

Gwaihir nodded.

 

Lay got up and knelt at the spot where Sehun’s body had lain.

 

Chen knelt down next to him, and put a hand on his shoulder.

 

“Prince Sehun is gone from this place. He is in a better place with Illuvator. Staying here would not bring him back,” he said gently. “Come, let’s go to Minas Tirith. You can stay there awhile, to recuperate before our next mission. We’ll be with you, every step of the way.”

 

“Let me have one more night,” begged Lay. “Let me stay here, where Prince Sehun last was, for one more night.”

 

The rangers all looked at Gwaihir, and he nodded once more. The eagles took off and landed in the branches of the two great trees, settling down to roost for the night.

 

Lay sat at the spot where Sehun’s body had been taken away. The rangers intermittently either sat with him in silence, or let him spend time alone. They brought him food and water, but Lay only drank and did not eat, having no appetite to stomach anything. When night fell, and the air turned chilly, they brought Lay’s blanket to him, draping it around him, wrapping him snugly in it. They built a fire, Chen and Kyungsoo speaking hesitantly to trees, reassuring them in human tongue that would only use fallen branches, and would dutifully put out the fire before they left.

 

The rangers also set the dead body of the Ungoliant ablaze, careful to build a barrier of loose rocks around her body first, so that the fire would be contained. Lay watched as her body burnt like a huge bonfire that lit up the night, illuminating the entire mountain top, casting dancing shadows into the surroundings, until it gradually burnt out, leaving only ashes in its wake. A gust of wind blew. The ashes danced with the wind, and got carried away down the mountain range, leaving nothing behind, no trace of the deadly evil that she had been in life, no trace of the ancient monstrosity that Sehun had given his life to vanquish.

 

The rangers settle down for the night, lying down next to the fire, wrapping themselves in their cloaks and warm blankets. They asked Lay to lie down with them, but Lay declined. Lay knew that he would not be sleeping that night. The rangers let him be, and Suho assigned watches for the other rangers, one at a time. Suho said the reason was that they had to watch out for enemies, but Lay suspected the watch was more so that there would be someone accompanying Lay at all times. Suho took the first watch. He sat next to Lay in silence, providing Lay with unobtrusive company.

 

The sky turned dark, and gradually the stars started to shine. Here on the mountain top, the stars shone big and bright. Lay looked at the star that was the Silmaril. He wondered if the Simaril knew that Sehun had fallen, that the _Kalahui_ had no wielder now.

 

As Lay looked at the star, it seemed as if the star was gradually becoming bigger and bigger. It seemed like the star was approaching. It shone brighter and brighter, until its light was so brilliant that Lay could not bear to look at it directly. Lay stood up in wonder, his blanket falling off his shoulders and pooling at his feet. Chanyeol, whose turn it was to be on watch, stood up too, following Lay’s line of sight to see what had caught Lay’s attention. Chanyeol’s gasp told Lay that he was not imagining things. The star was indeed coming towards them.

 

Chanyeol cried out a warning, and all the rangers rose from their slumber. They crowded round Chanyeol and Lay. Suho issued a frantic order, and all the rangers, aside from Lay, scrambled to arm themselves, some with swords, others with bows and arrows. The eagles were roused too, and they flew down towards the rangers, flanking them, perching on stones that jutted out from the ground. Lay stood transfixed, mesmerised by the rapidly advancing star.

 

The light from the star was so bright that it was blinding. They were all forced to put their hands in front of their eyes, squinting past their upraised hands so that they could keep an eye on the approaching star in their peripheral vision.

 

The star landed. It stood on the mountain top with them, not five metres away, burning brightly, illuminating the dark surroundings with its brilliant starburst. After its landing, the star’s light dimmed ever so slightly, and now Lay could make out the silhouette of a man standing within the blinding brightness.

 

The silhouette was that of a tall man, perfectly proportioned, long legs and long arms, and broad shoulders. The length of his neck, the curve of his head, the parting of his hair… though Lay could only see the outline of the man cloaked within the light, every curve and line of the man’s body was familiar. Lay swallowed a lump in his throat. Tears sprang into his eyes.

 

“Is there someone in the star?” asked Kai, his voice full of wonder.

 

Abruptly, Lay was reminded of the fact that men could not see as well as elves. They could see that someone was in the ball of shining light, but could not make out the silhouette as clearly as Lay could.

 

Suho raised his sword, pointing it at the person within the star, and the other rangers followed his cue, raising their weapons and keeping them trained on the potential new threat that they did not understand.

 

“Who are you?” Suho demanded.

 

Lay was not really expecting the star to answer, but he did.

 

“The Grey Wizard,” he stated simply.

 

The voice was familiar. Everyone recognised it instantly. Including Lay. The warmth that rose from within him just from being able to hear that voice again made his heart so full that Lay thought it was going to burst.

 

“Prince Sehun?” asked Suho. “But… it can’t be… you fell…”

 

“Prince Sehun?” repeated the star. “Yes… that was what they used to call me. Prince Sehun, third prince of House Vanyar. That was who I was, who I still am. But now, I am also Sehun the Grey.”

 

Sehun the Grey. Sehun was now a Maia, a lower level angel, just like Gandalf the White. Suddenly, it all made sense to Lay. Sarauman was the original White Wizard, but he had betrayed Illuvator in the War of the Ring, and sided with the Dark Lord. When the wizards were sent by the Valar to Middle Earth to deal with the threat of Sauron, the Valar had forbidden them to use their full powers, but Sarauman had disregarded that order once he changed sides, and he had used his full powers against Gandalf and the Fellowship of the Ring. But Gandalf the Grey had stayed true, and he had refrained from using his full powers even when battling the balrog in mines of Moria. Gandalf had died after killing the balrog, but Illuvator had resurrected him, making him Gandalf the White. And now that Sehun had died killing the Ungoliant, Illuvator had resurrected him too, making him Sehun the Grey. It all made sense now, why the Lady Nienna would choose Sehun as her disciple, train him, then send him to Middle Earth, and expect him to sacrifice his own life in the battle against evil. She had bigger plans for Sehun, that were in line with Illuvator’s.

 

Suho and the other rangers lowered their weapons.

 

“Please, show yourself,” said Suho.

 

The light dimmed gradually, until they could finally behold the man standing before them. Sehun took a step forward, and Lay could clearly see him, ethereal under the starlight. He was wearing robes of silver grey. His hair, which had been platinum blonde before, was now silver grey like his robes. He was beautiful.

 

The presence Sehun gave out was overwhelming. He radiated a higher otherworldly power. Lay sensed at once that Sehun was no longer an elf. He was now an Ainur, one of the angels. Lay sank to one knee, his head bowed. The other rangers followed suit, and the eagles dipped their heads.

 

“My friends, please, there is no need.”

 

The rangers got to their feet, standing before Sehun in awe. Sehun walked up to them, until he was standing right in front of them. Right in front of Lay. Lay drank in the sight of him, the sight of Sehun who was alive and well.

 

“My precious Lay.”

 

Lay was so relieved to be acknowledged by Sehun, that Sehun’s feelings for him had not changed despite him being elevated to an Ainur. Lay could not stop the tears from rolling down his cheeks as he fell into Sehun’s arms. Sehun hugged Lay tightly as Lay sobbed into the front of his robes.

 

“I have worried you, my precious Lay, and have caused you much grief. I am sorry.”

 

Lay shook his head, his throat too choked to speak, hoping his action conveyed what he wanted to say to Sehun, to let Sehun know that he did not blame him in the slightest, and was simply overwhelmed with joy to have Sehun back here with him.

 

“My precious Lay, do you remember my request to you, just before I died?”

 

Lay stared at Sehun, memories of the moment flooding back to him.

 

“You know how I feel about you. How much I love you. You were standing guard at the stone bridge when I first entered Rivendell with my entourage, and I loved you the instant I first set eyes on you. I have travelled all over Aman, met with elves, Valar and Maiar, but I have seen no one as beautiful as you. Not only your physical beauty, but also your spiritual beauty. Lay, I know you don’t know it, but your spiritual aura shines so brightly. I have never met an elf with a spiritual presence as pure as yours. It’s so pure it is almost comparable to the spiritual presence that the Ainur have. I have been praised time and time again of my beauty, and I never had any difficulty attracting the interest of anyone that caught my eye, but you… whenever I glanced at you, you were never looking back at me. You never paid any attention to me, no matter how hard I tried. On the night of Mettare in Rivendell, I finally put down my pride and approached you first, because it became clear to me that unlike all my other suitors, you were never going to make the first move. That night was the single most beautiful night of my life. And the time that you spent with me as we hunted down the Ungoliant together, it was and will always be the period of time in my life that I treasure the most. My precious Lay, do you not love me, as I love you?”

 

And Lay could not deny his feelings any longer.

 

“I love you, my prince.”

 

Sehun smiled, and to Lay, it was as if the whole world was a brighter place because of it. But Sehun’s smile faded, and he regarded Lay solemnly again.

 

“If Xiumin were resurrected too, and were standing before you, just like I am now, who would you choose?”

 

Lay froze.

 

Xiumin was his beloved. His bonded.

 

His precious, precious Xiumin.

 

Sehun covered Lay’s mouth with his hand, preventing Lay from saying anything.

 

“No. Remember my request to you. Please don’t choose right away. Give me a moment, just a moment. Consider how much I have done for you, how much I love you, before you choose.”

 

Xiumin had grown up together with Lay. Xiumin had always been there for Lay. Xiumin had loved Lay too, from the bottom of his heart. Xiumin had done much for Lay too. Xiumin would be loyal to Lay, if their positions had been reversed, if Xiumin were the one standing in front of Sehun now, Xiumin would choose Lay, because Xiumin loved Lay beyond all doubt. Xiumin would not have failed Lay, and Lay would not fail Xiumin either.

 

Xiumin was his first love. His forever love.

 

Lay did not voice any of this verbally, but the look in Sehun’s eyes told Lay that Sehun was reading his mind, loud and clear.

 

It was Sehun’s turn to have his eyes filled with tears. Lay couldn’t bear to see it.

 

“I love you, my prince,” repeated Lay, his heart heavy. It was as if Sehun’s tears cut straight into his heart.

 

“You love me, but you still love him more.”

 

Lay reached up, and brushed away Sehun’s tears from his cheeks. His heart ached.

 

“It’s alright, my precious Lay, you don’t have to feel guilty. I can’t bear you feeling so upset. I asked for a moment, and you have given it, and I respect your decision.”

 

Even at this point in time, Sehun was putting Lay above himself. Lay never felt so upset with himself.

 

“Illuvator granted me a reward. I asked for the resurrection of Xiumin, should you choose Xiumin over me.”

 

Lay stared at Sehun in shock.

 

“Illuvator always keeps his word. Xiumin has been released from the Halls of Mandos. He is waking up, as we speak, in the house he shares with you in Rivendell.”

 

Lay said nothing. It was too surreal.

 

“Now that you have Xiumin back, would you go to Aman?”

 

Too overwhelmed to speak, Lay could only nod dumbly.

 

“Good. It is the right decision to make. There is still time for you to embark on the Straight Road. You can join the Lothlorien elves, or the Mirkwood elves, on one of their ships. The two of you will be happy there.”

 

Sehun turned from Lay. He bowed first to the eagles, then to the rangers.

 

“I thank you all, for standing with me, through the long fight with the Ungoliant.”

 

“Where would you go from here, Prince Sehun?” asked Suho.

 

“I will first go back to Aman. Now that I am a Maia, I have enough spiritual energy to shadow walk from Middle Earth to Aman, without having to take a ship. I am anxious to speak with Lady Nienna, and with my parents and brothers. After that, I would return to Middle Earth, to continue with my original mission of overseeing the migration of the elves.”

 

Sehun now turned back to Lay.

 

“When that is done, I would return to Aman. If you are in Aman with Xiumin then, we might see each other again.”

 

Lay nodded, relieved that this parting from Sehun would not be their last goodbye.

 

“My precious Lay, may I have one last kiss?”

 

Sehun’s cupped the back of Lay’s neck and bent down. His lips pressed upon Lay’s, and Lay felt his heart flutter, felt warmth rise within him. Then Sehun was already pulling back.

 

With a last lingering look, he turned around, and walked away. Lay almost wanted to call him back, but the words died in his throat. He had no right to ask Sehun to stay.

 

Sehun took no more than ten steps, but by then, he had disappeared, gone into the Unseen Realm.

 

Lay watched as he left, vanished and swallowed up by the night, fading away from Lay’s life.

 

The sense of loss was staggering.

 

The next day, the eagles bore them all to Rivendell. Lay had said that he could go alone, that the rangers could return to Minas Tirith like they had originally intended, and that after he reunited with Xiumin, he would join them there, but they were insistent that they accompany Lay, and Lay was grateful for their company. The journey to Rivendell was long, and even on the backs of the eagles, it took several days, with them stopping to rest for the night in between.

 

At last, on the third day, Lay spotted the familiar buildings and waterfalls of Rivendell, though this was the first time he was seeing them from above. The eagles landed in the city square. They slid off the backs of the eagles, bowing to them and thanking them. The rangers were clearly intrigued by what to them was a strange elven city, but Lay was anxious to reach home immediately, and did not want to linger.

 

With quick steps, he led the way to his house. As they walked through the empty streets, the quietness of Rivendell unnerved him. An air of abandonment hung over the entire city. Finally, they reached Lay’s house, a small wooden hut built across a stream, in front of waterfall. The river fell into a small rapid right in front of his doorstep. His heart beating wildly, Lay pushed open the front door. No one was inside. He quickly stepped in, his heartbeat pounding in his ears, the other rangers following closely behind. He quickly searched all the rooms, opening the doors that led to the bedroom, the kitchen, the bathroom, but the rooms were all empty. In his peripheral vision, Lay could see the rangers doing the same, fanning out and searching the house.

 

The house was empty.

 

An uneasy feeling churned at the pit of Lay’s stomach.

 

“Erm… maybe Prince Sehun was mistaken?” said Chanyeol tentatively.

 

The last syllable was barely out of his mouth before Kyungsoo had jabbed him the ribs. Hard. Chanyeol doubled on the floor in pain.

 

“I don’t think Prince Sehun would have been wrong about something like this,” said Chen.

 

Lay ran a finger across the dining table. It was clean. No dust.

 

“The house… It’s too clean for a place that has been abandoned for so long.”

 

Lay ran to the backyard. True enough, there were a series of white washcloths hanging out to dry on the clothes line. He touched one of them. It was still wet. Lay smiled, even as tears pricked his eyes. This was just like Xiumin. Xiumin had always been very particular about cleanliness. He could never stand it if their house was dirty.

 

“He’s here,” said Lay. “He cleaned the house.”

 

“There’s food in your kitchen too,” observed Suho. “I presume the food must have been recently put here. They could not possibly have been left in your kitchen by you, for the entire length of period you have been away from Rivendell. If so, they would have gone bad by now.”

 

Lay ran to the kitchen. Just like Suho had said, there was bread on the counter, and cheese, and fresh fruit too. Lord Elrond had kept stocks of food, a few centuries worth, in secret vaults hidden in various parts of Rivendell, in case of a siege if the War of the Ring had gone badly. The elves had taken some of the stores for the long ship voyage to Aman, but a significant part had been left behind in the vaults, too much to bring along on the Straight Road, and Lord Elrond had informed the Mirkwood or Lothlorien elves of the stores, and welcomed them to use them should they ever have need for it. All members of the elven guard knew how to open the secret vaults, so Xiumin must have gotten the bread and cheese from there. And he must have plucked the fresh fruit from the trees that grew around Rivendell.

 

“He’s here,” repeated Lay, relief and joy overwhelming him. “He must have just gone out for a while. He’ll be back.”

 

“We’ll just wait then,” Baekhyun said, happy on Lay’s behalf.

 

Mindful of how tired and hungry the rangers must be, Lay broke the bread and the cheese, distributing it to everyone. Chen helped boil a pot of tea for everyone too. The rangers were taking turns to bath, when Lay decided to venture out into the forest outside Rivendell. Baekhyun saw him go, and offered to come along, but Lay told him to go ahead and take a bath and rest, and to tell the others that he would be back soon.

 

Lay trekked through the familiar path through the forested mountain. He stepped into the familiar empty clearing in the middle of the forest. He stood on the patch of grass, under the shade of the ancient oak tree. Next to him, the clear sparkling brook bubbled merrily.

 

Lay stood alone, surveying the empty clearing. There was no one here.

 

Disappointment pooled in his stomach. He turned to leave. Just when his back was turned, Lay heard a thump. The sound of feet landing on the ground from a height.

 

Lay froze.

 

Light on his feet, Xiumin had always been very skilled at stealth, even when they were kids. It was near impossible to find Xiumin whenever they were playing hide and seek. If it was Xiumin’s turn to hide, Lay could comb the forest for hours and hours, and never find him. Whenever that happened, Lay always got anxious. Not because he was afraid of losing the game, but from an irrational fear that he had lost Xiumin, that he would never see Xiumin again. And because Xiumin could never stand to see Lay upset, Xiumin would always let Lay find him. He would jump out of whatever tree he was hiding in, and deliberately land behind Lay with an audible thump.

 

Lay turned around.

 

Xiumin was standing before him.

 

His coppery-pink hair shone in the sun, and his grey-green eyes sparkled as he beamed at Lay, his cheekbones highlighting his sculptured face.

 

Lay could not believe this. After missing Xiumin for so long, after all the tears, and sleepless nights and excruciating pain, he had Xiumin standing before him, whole and healthy. Xiumin, who was real, not just an image from his memory, not just a dream that he would wake up from.

 

After so long, Lay had found Xiumin at last.

 

He moved forward instinctively, not even aware that he had taken a step forward, until he and Xiumin were face to face, almost touching.

 

Lay fall forward into Xiumin’s waiting arms. As Xiumin held him, Lay knew that he had come home.

 


	10. The Journey to Find You

“I don’t want to drink my soup.”

 

Xiumin laughed at Baekhyun’s petulant tone, but Lay was unmoved. Putting on his sternest expression, Lay held the spoonful of creamy vegetable soup in front of Baekhyun’s lips expectantly. Sighing, Baekhyun conceded. He opened his mouth obediently and allowed Lay to feed him the spoonful of soup.

 

“It tastes disgusting,” said Baekhyun, making a face after he had swallowed. “Why did you have to put in so much vegetables?”

 

“Because they’re good for you,” said Lay, scooping up another spoonful.

 

Baekhyun pursed his lips tightly together, refusing to open his mouth again. Laughing, Xiumin ruffled Baekhyun’s hair fondly.

 

“If you finish your soup, Lay and I will take you out for a walk,” promised Xiumin. “We’ll climb to the top of the hill, and you can watch the sunset. You’ll like that, won’t you?”

 

Lay threw Xiumin a look. They had been planning to bring Baekhyun on the walk anyway, regardless of whether Baekhyun drank his soup or not. Xiumin winked at Lay behind Baekhyun’s back, and Lay had to smother a smile. The carrot Xiumin dangled in front of Baekhyun worked though, and Baekhyun swallowed mouthfuls of the soup that Lay fed to him steadily, without further complaint.

 

“Good boy,” praised Lay happily, when the spoon scraped the bottom of the bowl at last.

 

“I’m 98 years old,” griped Baekhyun. “I resent being called a good boy.”

 

“I am one thousand years older than you. I’m sure that entitles me to call you a boy if I want to.”

 

“Well, living for one thousand years hasn’t been enough for you to learn how to make a bowl of decent soup. Not like Taeyeon. Taeyeon’s soups were the best.”

 

“I’m sure they were,” said Lay gently, kissing Baekhyun on the forehead, before rising to wash the bowl.

 

Taeyeon was Baekhyun’s wife. Since her death last year, Baekhyun’s health had rapidly deteriorated, so Lay and Xiumin had moved in to take care of him. Baekhyun had four sons and three daughters, twenty grandchildren, and even a few great-grandchildren, and Lay supposed Baekhyun could have stayed with anyone of them, but Lay had wanted to be the one to care for Baekhyun in his last days, and Baekhyun had allowed it.

 

Lay dressed Baekhyun for their outing. Xiumin waited patiently, as Lay added on layer after layer. When Lay decided that Baekhyun was warm enough, Xiumin knelt down in front of Baekhyun. With Lay’s help, Baekhyun draped himself over Xiumin’s back, putting his arms around Xiumin’s neck. Holding Baekhyun’s legs steady, Xiumin stood up, carrying Baekhyun in a piggyback. Together, the three of them made their way out of Baekhyun’s cottage, down the windy tree-lined path that led out from it, and up the grassy hill that Baekhyun’s cottage was at the foot of.

 

It was a pleasant balmy summer evening. The skies were clear and blue, with puffy white clouds dotting the sky. Birds were singing, flocking into trees to roost. With his elven hearing, Lay could also hear woodland creatures, rabbits and squirrels and skunks, scuttling back to their dens for the night.

 

The hill was not very high, and it did not take them long to reach the top. Xiumin gently set Baekhyun down on the grass, and Xiumin and Lay sat on either side of him. The sunset was just beginning. The edges of the blue sky were tinged with maroon and pink, and the fiery sun shot out beams of warm orange light. Sighing in contentment, Baekhyun laid his head on Lay’s shoulder as they watched the sunset.

 

“Are you cold?” asked Lay. “I could give you my coat if you are.”

 

“I’m fine. How is it that you nag more than me? I’m supposed to be the old man here. Oh wait, I forgot that you are ancient.”

 

“Yes, I am,” smiled Lay. “You are young compared to me.”

 

“Young if I were an elf. But I am a man, and I am old. But it’s alright, you know. It has been a good life. We had some good times, didn’t we, Lay?”

 

“Yes, we did. Both Xiumin and I are glad to have served in the rangers together with you.”

 

“Yes,” agreed Xiumin. “It has been an honour to fight alongside you, Baekhyun.”

 

After Lay and Xiumin had been reunited, Lay had wanted to stay on in Middle Earth a little longer, instead of departing for Aman immediately. He wanted to spend as much time as he could with Baekhyun, Chanyeol, Suho, Chen, Kyungsoo and Kai. As always, Xiumin concurred to what Lay wanted, and they had both served in the rangers together for many years, until the six men were too old to serve anymore, and had retired to a village in the outskirts of the realm of Gondor. Lay and Xiumin lived with them in the same village for many happy years, as the rangers enjoyed their retirement. But old age had caught up with them one by one, until eventually, only Baekhyun remained.

 

They watched the sun set in a burst of fiery orange, pink and blues. It was beautiful, and Lay took heart at how much Baekhyun seemed to be enjoying the sight, the fresh air, and being outdoors in general.

 

“Let’s go back. You’ve been out long enough. You’re tired,” said Lay.

 

“No. Let me stay out longer. I want to see the stars.”

 

By this time, evening had slowly given way to night. The sky had darkened, and the stars started to come twinkling out, one by one. The air had turned colder too. Though he had dressed Baekhyun warmly, his old age meant that he was prone to chills, and he took a long time to recover from even the mildest of colds. Lay knew he should insist they go back, but he hadn’t the heart to turn down Baekhyun’s request. Lay looked over to Xiumin. As if he could read the worries that weighed on Lay’s mind, Xiumin took off his jacket, and draped it over Baekhyun. Lay smiled. He and Xiumin were always in sync. He supposed it came from a thousand years of interacting together.

 

“That’s the Simaril, isn’t it?”

 

Lay followed Baekhyun’s line of sight. The Silmaril shone in the night sky, big and bright.

 

“Yes, it is.”

 

“Do you remember, the night on the mountain top, the night after we had defeated the Ungoliant? It looked like Simaril had descended from the heavens and onto that mountain top, but the shining ball of light was actually Prince Sehun.”

 

Lay felt a pang at the mention of Sehun, but he humoured Baekhyun anyway, not wanting Baekhyun to feel like anything was wrong.

 

“Yes, I remember.”

 

“That was something, wasn’t it? It’s not every day that you see someone you know becoming an angel.”

 

“Yes, it was.”

 

Lay glanced at Xiumin. Xiumin met Lay’s gaze openly. There was no hint of jealousy on his face, only concern for Lay, that Lay may have felt hurt at the mention of Sehun.

 

“Those were fun times, weren’t they?” said Baekhyun with a sigh. “We had some pretty good adventures.”

 

“Yes, they were,” said Lay gently. “Come now, you’re tired. You can barely keep your eyes open. Let’s go back.”

 

Baekhyun did not protest this time, and Lay piggybacked him back to the cottage. Lay changed Baekhyun into his bedclothes, and tucked him snugly into bed.

 

“I’m sorry,” said Baekhyun, as Lay tucked his blanket under his chin.

 

“Sorry? Whatever for?”

 

“Do you remember? When you first joined the rangers, and I asked you why you didn’t want to go to the Undying Lands like all the other elves? You told me about losing Xiumin. I thought I understood how you felt, I thought I had been a good friend then, but now I realise that whatever I said or did at that time was nowhere near enough. It’s only now that I understand what it feels like, to lose the person you love.”

 

Lay gently smoothed down Baekhyun’s hair.

 

“Are you thinking of Taeyeon?”

 

“I miss her.” Baekhyun’s eyes were filled with tears. “So much.”

 

“You’ll see her again. The both of you will have a place in the new world when Illuvator sings the new song of creation.”

 

“Where do you think she is now?”

 

“In a place that only Illuvator knows. But be rest assured that she’s in the good hands of the Creator.”

 

“I’ll go there too, after I die?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“I can’t wait. To see her again.”

 

Baekhyun turned to Xiumin.

 

“I glad you’re here. With Lay.”

 

Xiumin smiled down at Baekhyun, then at Lay.

 

“I’m glad too.”

 

As was their usual routine every night, Lay played the flute while Xiumin sang, lulling Baekhyun to sleep. Baekhyun liked this. It helped him to relax. Baekhyun drifted off to sleep, a contented smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Lay planted a gentle kiss on his forehead, then he and Xiumin went to their own bedroom to sleep.

 

The next day, Lay woke up to the delicious aroma of porridge cooking in the kitchen. He went to the kitchen to give Xiumin a good morning kiss before going to Baekhyun’s room to wake him up for breakfast.

 

But Baekhyun could not be woken up that morning.

 

He looked peaceful, as if he were merely sleeping. He still had the contented smile tugging at the sides of lips, the same one that he had fallen asleep with. Lay took comfort in this.

 

They buried Baekhyun next to Taeyeon, in the little hillside cemetery at the outskirts of the village. The entire village turned up for the funeral‒ Baekhyun’s many descendants, extended family, friends and neighbours. Lay thought back on Baekhyun’s words when they had been watching the sunset on the hill. _It has been a good life_ , he had said. Lay agreed with him. Baekhyun had been a good man, and he had lived a good life.

 

The other rangers were buried in the same cemetery too, not far from each other, next to their respective spouses. After Baekhyun’s funeral ceremony, Lay and Xiumin visited the tombstones of the others too, laying bouquets of wild white flowers in front of them.

 

Suho. Chen. Kyungsoo. Kai. Chanyeol.

 

Xiumin lingered a little longer at Chen’s tombstone. All eight of them were very close, but if Baekhyun had been Lay’s best friend amongst the rangers, then Chen had been Xiumin’s.

 

With the passing of Baekhyun, there was nothing left on Middle Earth for Lay and Xiumin. They were ready to go to Aman, at last.

 

They packed whatever belongings they could comfortably carry. They did not bring much. They had each other, and that was enough. There were no horses to be sold in their village, so they climbed over a couple of hills to the nearest big town. They found a merchant willing to sell them a couple of horses. He led out a black stallion for Xiumin, and a brown mare for Lay. Lay left Xiumin to handle the payment, staying behind in the stables to pet the mane of his new mare. She looked somewhat like the mare that he had rode from the Grey Havens to Minas Tirith, many years ago. Lay remembered Sehun speaking to that mare, and Sehun telling Lay that she liked him.

 

“You’re thinking of him again, aren’t you?”

 

Lay had been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn’t realised that Xiumin had returned. Xiumin was leaning against the door of the stables, smiling fondly at Lay.

 

Lay immediately went to him, leaning up to kiss his beloved on the lips, a compensation for thinking of another. Lay felt guilty towards Xiumin about his feelings for Sehun, though Xiumin had already told him many times not to be. As usual, the feeling of Xiumin’s lips on his made Lay’s heart flutter slightly, and he wondered how Xiumin could have this effect on him after so many years.

 

“How could you tell?”

 

“You always have this look, when you are thinking of him. Don’t worry, you’ll see him soon.”

 

Lay burrowed himself in Xiumin’s embrace, breathing in the familiar scent of Xiumin. Xiumin made him feel safe and warm, and this allowed him the confidence to voice out his insecurities.

 

“What if he doesn’t want to see me?”

 

“He will. Who wouldn’t want to?”

 

“You’re only saying that cos you’re you. You always want to see me.”

 

Xiumin laughed. He had a bright tinkling laughter that made the whole world brighter.

 

“That’s true, my love. So true.” And he kissed Lay again.

 

They rode alongside the Great River Anduin, galloping northwards, in the opposite direction from which the current was flowing, towards Mirkwood, the last settlement of elves in Middle Earth.

 

After galloping at a quick pace for the whole day, Xiumin and Lay stopped to make camp for the night. They camped near the river, on a grassy bank. The river was wide, and the flow of water fast. Lay liked the sound of the running water. It reminded him of Rivendell. On the far side of the river, the other bank was made up steep rocky cliffs, covered in greenery. It was a lovely sight. Middle Earth was beautiful, and Lay would miss it, though he supposed Aman would surpass Middle Earth in beauty.

 

They tied their horses some distance away, taking care to tie the ropes at a comfortable length for the horses. Xiumin had bought a skin of wine from the town, so they had a dinner of wine and lembas that night.

 

They spread out their blankets on the soft grassy ground, cuddled together. Xiumin rolled Lay on his back and kissed him. His hands started roaming around, and Lay knew what he wanted.

 

“We’re out in the open,” whispered Lay, in between Xiumin’s insistent kisses, blushing slightly.

 

“There’s no one else for miles around,” replied Xiumin, his hands steadily undressing Lay even as he spoke, confident that Lay would not turn him down despite his attempt at protest. And he was right. Lay never did.

 

Xiumin planted a kiss on each of his blushing cheeks. “I love how you blush, even after the all these years.”

 

Lay wanted to retort that this was because Xiumin was taking him right here, under the open sky, with no walls to protect their privacy, but Xiumin had entered him, and Lay lost the ability to string a coherent sentence together.

 

Later, when they were both snuggled under the blankets together, still naked, cuddled together for warmth, Lay asked, “My love, are you sure you’re alright if it’s going to be three of us in future? I won’t go ahead with it, if you aren’t.”

 

Xiumin was lying on his back, and Lay was draped over him, resting his chin in his hands on his lover’s chest, looking down at Xiumin as he spoke. Xiumin met his gaze openly and sincerely. He ran his hand through Lay’s hair.

 

“I am sure. You’ve been pining for him, and I can’t stand to see you unhappy. I keep thinking of how you were in Rivendell, when we were kids, when I first told you I loved you, and when we got married. You were just so happy then, and you aren’t right now. I want you to return to that state of happiness, and if that means having to share you with him, then I am willing to share, if he is.”

 

Lay could feel his eyes filling with tears. This was not the first time they have had this conversation, but Lay’s insecurities meant that he kept bringing this topic up, needing to hear reassurance from Xiumin again and again that he was alright with this.

 

“You don’t have to be so nice to me.”

 

Xiumin leaned up to kiss Lay, gently brushing the tear that threatened to leak out of the corner of Lay’s eye.

 

“I have to, my love, because I am only happy if you are.”

 

“I only want this, if the both of you want each other too. It’s going to have to be a three-way relationship. I don’t want the two of you to love only me, and not each other. It wouldn’t be fair to either of you otherwise.”

 

Xiumin looked into Lay’s eyes, his big eyes serious as they bore into Lay’s. “I can’t say I love him now. But I love you, and because it would make you happy, I will try to love him too. And if he agrees to join us, I am sure on his part, he would do his best to try to love me as well, for your sake.”

 

Lay shifted his position, so that he was lying on Xiumin’s shoulder, his cheek against Xiumin’s collarbone.

 

“What if he doesn’t want to be a part of us? What if he doesn’t love me anymore?”

 

Xiumin rubbed his shoulder reassuringly. Lay could feel his breath tickling his forehead, blowing against his fringe.

 

“I doubt that will happen, my love. I don’t think it is possible to fall out of love with you. But let’s say that is really the case, then it’ll be two of us, accompanying each other until Dagor Dagorath and into the new world. Like we originally intended to. That’s not so bad, is it?”

 

Yes, that won’t be bad at all, thought Lay, as he closed his eyes to accept the kiss that Xiumin planted on his forehead.

 

“We’ll reach Mirkwood in a few days. We’ll see him soon,” said Lay, happier now that Xiumin had allayed his fears somewhat. Meeting Sehun again after so long no longer seemed like such a scary prospect after all. He hoped that all would go well, that Sehun would accept his feelings, and Xiumin.

 

After a few days of travel, they reached the fringes of Mirkwood. When they reached outskirts of the forest, Lay and Xiumin were surprised to find a couple of elves already waiting for them there.

 

“Greetings, Lay, son of Caelar, and Xiumin, son of Alathain. We have been expecting you.”

 

“You have our thanks. How did you know we were coming?” said Xiumin.

 

“Prince Sehun alerted us of your imminent arrival, and instructed us to wait here for you. We welcome you to Mirkwood. Please follow us. Prince Legolas is awaiting you.”

 

Xiumin and Lay exchanged a glance. Sehun knew that they were coming. This meant that Sehun had been keeping an eye on them all along. Lay wondered how. Did he scry, looking at their images on the surface of water? Or had he shadow walked through the Unseen Realm to the little village that they had been staying in? All the times that Lay had missed Sehun, had thought of him, had Sehun been standing just next to him, unknown to him, invisible and untouchable?

 

The two elves led Lay and Xiumin into the depths of Mirkwood. Mirkwood was an ancient forest, and its trees were old and huge. They towered up way above the elves, their leaves so high up that Lay could not see them when he looked up. Lay could only see the thick gnarled tree trunks and intertwining branches. So thick were the intertwining tree branches that very little sunlight reached the forest floor, and the atmosphere in Mirkwood was dark and a little foreboding. The previous times Lay had come to Mirkwood, they had encountered giant spiders in the woods, and Lay kept a keen eye and ear out for them, hands ready to fly to his weapons at any time. One of their guides noticed this.

 

“You can feel free to be at ease. The giant spiders have not shown themselves since Prince Sehun defeated the Ungoliant.”

 

Lay supposed this made sense. Without the backing of the Ungoliant, the spiders would not dare to infringe upon the forests of Mirkwood, where Sehun was, overseeing the final leg of the elven migration. Before long, they crossed the narrow bridge over the flowing forest river, and entered the elven Woodland Realm. The elven city was constructed almost entirely of wood, a mass of interconnected pathways and bridges that wove around branches and roots, and buildings were built around tree trunks, almost as if the buildings and its rooms and hallways were extensions of the trees.

 

Xiumin and Lay were brought to the throne room, where Prince Legolas was waiting. He smiled warmly at them as they walked in. He wore a slim circlet of silver on his brow. Lay and Xiumin dropped to one knee, right hand over their hearts, in greeting to the elven prince.

 

“Please arise, my friends. We’ve fought together at the Battle of Helm’s Deep. We were comrades-in-arms, and it is my pleasure to welcome you to Mirkwood. We are happy that you would be embarking on the Straight Road with our elves. Our next ship for Aman leaves one month from now, and until then, the hospitality of Mirkwood is yours.”

 

Lay was pleased to see Prince Legolas again after the battle of Helm’s Deep, but he was not the elven prince that he had been wanting to see. Lay kept looking around, but the throne room only consisted of Prince Legolas and his elven guards standing in background.

 

“You have our thanks, my prince. We are grateful that we would be able to travel on one of your ships to Aman. May I enquire about the whereabouts of Prince Sehun? Lay fought alongside Prince Sehun against the Ungoliant, and I owe my life to him. We would like to speak with him, if you please,” said Xiumin.

 

“Ah, but I am afraid Prince Sehun the Grey is not here.”

 

“Not here?” Lay could not help repeating dumbly, as disappointed flooded through him.

 

“Yes. The Valar have now also entrusted Prince Sehun with task of ensuring that the Middle Earth elves that have recently arrived in Aman are well settled in. Prince Sehun now splits his time between Aman and Middle Earth, travelling often to and fro between both places. He shadow walked for Aman just this morning. But be rest assured that before he left, Prince Sehun had told us that you would be coming, and he gave clear instructions that you should be well taken care of.”

 

Lay’s throat was choked up, and he did not trust himself to speak. Lay was grateful for Xiumin, who fluently exchanged niceties with Prince Legolas, thanking him for his hospitality. Prince Legolas then instructed one of his retainers to show Xiumin and Lay their rooms, so that they could rest from their long journey.

 

The suite of rooms allocated to Xiumin and Lay were luxurious, as if they were honoured guests, members of royalty, instead of mere elven guards from another elven realm. But Lay was not in the mood to appreciate the luxury of the room. He sat down at the edge of an ornately carved wooden reclining chair, placed on the balcony of their rooms, utterly dejected.

 

“He’s avoiding me. Avoiding us.”

 

Xiumin sat down on chair, next to Lay. His close proximity was a comfort to Lay.

 

“Perhaps he really had urgent business in Aman?”

 

“I think it is more likely that he did not want to see us, and he planned his departure so that he could miss our coming to Mirkwood.”

 

“In all honesty, I think so too, my love. If he were here, seeing you with me would hurt him, and he probably did not want to face that. But the fact that he knew we were coming, and that he would leave special instructions for us to be well taken of, shows that he still has feelings for you. He has not forgotten you.”

 

Lay reached out for Xiumin, and Xiumin immediately pulled him close. Lay buried his head in the crook of Xiumin’s neck, while Xiumin put his arms around Lay, holding him, making him feel safe and loved.

 

“We’ll look for him when we are in Aman. We’ll find him, eventually.”

 

Lay nodded. He hoped Xiumin was right, that they would be able to find Sehun in Aman. He hoped Sehun would not avoid them there too.

 

They spent the next one month in Mirkwood. The previous occasions they had visited Mirkwood, they had always been on official business, as part of Rivendell’s elven guard. But this time, they had copious amounts of free time, with no duties to attend to, and they spent their days exploring the city, and the forest. After dwelling in human settlements for a long time, Lay and Xiumin found that they enjoyed being among fellow elves again. The was a certain familiarity in the city, elven architecture and design, the elven way of life, that made them feel comfortable.

 

The migration of the Mirkwood elves were going at a much slower pace than that of Rivendell, or Lothlorien, so there were still plenty of elves living in Mirkwood. Lay knew that it was because of their prince. Legolas had grown close to Aragon during the times when they were in the Fellowship of the Ring together, and much like how Lay stayed with the rangers till the end, Lay knew that Legolas would stay in Middle Earth with Aragorn until his passing. Legolas was well-loved by his people, and many Mirkwood citizens chose to stay behind with him.  

 

It was time to make their way to the Grey Havens. Xiumin and Lay rode on the same horses that they had bought from Gondor to the harbour. They rode in single file through the forests, in a long train, that Lay could not see the beginning or end of, sometimes in silence, sometimes in song. The songs they sang were sad, songs of farewell to Middle Earth. They went along the Old Forest Road, and along the way, they passed by Rivendell. They camped at Rivendell for the night, Lay and Xiumin staying the night in their very own house. Lay was sorry to leave it behind. He would miss Rivendell, its waterfalls and rapids, its surrounding hills and forests, and all the memories he had created in it. Lay knew it was the same for Xiumin.

 

The next day, they crossed the stone bridge out of Rivendell for what Lay knew would be the last time in his life. They made their way along the East-West Road, until their route brought them pass the Shire. With a pang, Lay remembered his promise to Sehun, that they would visit the Shire together after the Ungoliant had been vanquished. Lay wondered if Sehun came by himself. They passed by the Shire without stopping. Lay wished they did. If so, he could have asked Samwise Gamgee if he had seen Sehun, if Sehun had ever visited the Shire and talked to him.

 

Finally, they reached the Grey Havens. Despite knowing that he would miss Middle Earth, Lay was filled with a sense of anticipation as he boarded the ship. After sending his fellow Rivendell elves off so many times, it was finally his turn. This time, he would not be watching someone else sailing off into the distance, while he was left behind. He would be on board the ship when it left the harbour.

 

Lay stood at the side of the ship, resting his elbows on the wooden panel, his hands clasped together. Xiumin hugged him from the back, resting his chin on Lay’s shoulder, and together they watched the harbour become smaller and smaller. Lay turned back to look at Xiumin.

 

“My love, I am so glad that you are here with me right now. I would never have made this trip without you.”

 

“I know, my love, I know,” said Xiumin, kissing Lay gently on his temple.

 

Lay and Xiumin watched until Middle Earth disappeared from the horizon. The ship sailed through the glittering ocean. Instead of retiring to their cabin below, the two of them stayed on the deck for a long time, watching the sea and the sky of Middle Earth for what would be the last time. Day gave way to night. They watched the sun set over the waves. The sky gradually faded to black, and the stars came out to shine. Then, so smoothly that they barely noticed that it was happening, the ship lifted itself out of the water, sailing on thin air.

 

The moon was round and full that night. It shone a white glittery moonlit path on the waves below it. As the ship rose higher and higher into the sky, it sailed past the moon, and Lay and Xiumin could see the dark shadow cast by their ship in the middle of the path of the moonlight on the waves.

 

After some time, the ship left even the moon behind. Beneath them, the rolling sea seemed to fall away, until they sailed into black space overlaid with ghostly white waves. Elves in general are not easily excited, but by this time, the whole ship full of elves were back on the deck, lined up against the sides of the ship, watching in awe as they took in this never-seen-before sight.

 

Lay could not tell how long they sailed. There was no sun and no moon to indicate the passing of the days, and indeed, Lay got the feeling that they were sailing through time and space. To Lay, it just felt like a long time. There were many times that Lay and Xiumin slept and woke, and ate. At first, Lay counted them, hoping to use them to gauge the passing of time, but after a time, there were too many to count.

 

Xiumin detected it first. A change in the air. He and Lay were comfortably snuggled in their bed in their cabin, when he slowly sat up.

 

“What’s wrong?” asked Lay, sitting up too.

 

“The air feels different,” Xiumin replied. “It’s as if the air got thicker.”

 

Now that Xiumin mentioned it, Lay realised it too. Lay hadn’t even noticed it, but the air around them had been very thin. Now, the air felt like it was returning back to normal. That could only mean one thing. Both of them quickly went up to the deck. Nothing seemed different. As far as the eye could see, there was only empty blackness and the ghostly white waves.

 

It happened subtlely. Though they had been looking out intently for it, they could not tell when it had happened, but instead of the ghostly white waves, real water was slapping against the sides of the ship. By this time, the other elves on the ship had also realised they were nearing the Undying Lands at last, and they were all on the deck like Lay and Xiumin. A hushed silence descended upon the ship. The entire ship full of elves were united in bated breath, silent anticipation.

 

The blackness surrounding them gradually lightened. Lay could see the sky at last, the welcoming sight of cerulean blue dotted with white clouds. Beneath them, they were sailing on the sea once more, beautiful waves that reflected the sunlight.

 

A commotion arose from the elves on the other side of the ship. Like the other elves on the same side of the ship as them, Lay and Xiumin turned around and moved towards the other side. The elves on the forefront of the crowd moved aside, so that the elves at the back could move forward and see the sight for themselves.

 

A great island, covered in greenery, stood out from the sea. Towering structures stood up from amidst the greenery. Despite the evidence of elven-made structures, the buildings seemed to blend harmoniously with the nature surrounding it, causing no discordance in the ebb and flow of nature.

 

“Tol Eressëa,” breathed Lay.

 

They all watched as they sailed past the island, marvelling at the huge strange buildings that were visible at even from a distance, buildings that were undoubtedly elven, but yet strange at the same time, buildings of a scale and magnitude that would not have been possible in Middle Earth.

 

There was another commotion amongst the elves at the front of the ship. Lay and Xiumin waited patiently as the elves before them looked at the sight then moved aside, until it was their turn to shuffle to the front to behold the sight for themselves. In front of them was a range of towering mountains and cliffs, and a narrow strip of beach in front. Eldamar was reached.

 

The ship sailed smoothly into the harbour. While the harbour at the Grey Havens had been old but fully functional, this harbour felt both new and old at the same time. New, because every single structure seemed to be perfectly pristine condition, as if they were newly built, yet old, because the entire place had an air of having been there for a very long time.  There was already a party of elves waiting for them when the ship sailed into the harbour. Fair-headed with blue eyes, they could only be Vanyar elves, deployed by Prince Sehun.

 

It felt very disorienting to walk on land again after being on a ship for so long. To Lay, it felt if the very ground was swaying under his feet. Lay and Xiumin followed the file of Mirkwood elves inside a large house in front of the harbour. As they entered towering double doors, they realised that they had walked into a great hall, where a welcome feast had already been laid out for them.

 

They were making their way to one of the long tables in the hall, when a Vanya elf intercepted them. Lay recognised him. He had been in Rivendell with Sehun, but Sehun had sent him back to Aman, with the rest of his retainers, the day Lord Elrond and the last of the Rivendell elves had sailed from the Grey Havens. He was young, even younger than Prince Sehun. Indeed, amongst all his retainers, Sehun seemed closest with him, treating him more like a friend or a younger brother, instead of a servant. He bowed deeply to both Lay and Xiumin, greeting them both by name, and introducing himself as Myrrlin, son of Catelyn. He led Lay and Xiumin to the high table, seating them with the highest ranked of the Mirkwood elves with whom they had sailed. A regal-looking Vanya elf sat at the centre of the high table. He stood up and bowed to Xiumin and Lay as they approached. He introduced himself as a duke of House Vanyar. Lay realised that that would make him Sehun’s relative, either an uncle or a cousin. Lay and Xiumin were seated to his right, places of high honour. The duke rose and a gave a speech, welcoming the Mirkwood elves to Aman, and inviting them to rest at the guest house for the night, before they would be travelling to the lands that the Valar had set aside for them.

 

Myrrlin, who was seated near Xiumin and Lay, leaned over to talk to them. “The Mirkwood elves would be travelling to southern coast, near Avathar, where the other Mirkwood elves have already been settled. But the Rivendell elves are settled at the western coast, and Prince Sehun the Grey has tasked me to escort you there. Prince Sehun would like to extend his greetings to you both. He welcomes you to Aman, and would like to reassure you he has made all the possible arrangements for your coming. He has informed your families and Lord Elrond of your impending arrival, and they are anxiously awaiting their reunion with you.”

 

Myrrlin said all this in one breath, and when he finished, he had the air of someone who was relieved that he had delivered his memorised speech perfectly. Xiumin and Lay made eye contact and they both stifled smiles. Myrrlin was cute. Lay was suddenly reminded of Baekhyun’s oldest son, when he was a kid.

 

“Thank you for escorting us there,” said Xiumin, smiling at Myrrlin.

 

“Oh, it would be no trouble at all! It is my honour to serve valued friends of Prince Sehun. He has instructed me to take care of your every need.”

 

“Is that what he called us? Valued friends?” asked Lay.

 

“Yes! I wouldn’t have dared presume otherwise, if he hadn’t.”

 

Lay did not know whether to be comforted that Sehun referred to him as “valued”, or to be sad that Sehun called him only a “friend”.

 

“The Rivendell elves are the midst of building their new city of Alfheim. Prince Sehun is overseeing its building together with Lord Elrond, just as he’s overseeing the building of Lorien with Lady Galadriel and the building of Svartálfaheimr with King Thranduil. Alfheim is projected to be completed in two hundred years’ time, but in the meantime, the Rivendell residents are put up in temporary villages built near the construction site. Prince Sehun would like to assure you that while the accommodations are temporary, they are comfortable and would meet your every need.”

 

“Would Prince Sehun be there?” asked Xiumin.

 

“Oh no. It’s the Queen’s 8,000th birthday! There’s going to be a big celebration in Taniquetil. Prince Sehun would be there for the celebration of his mother’s birthday.”

 

Lay could not help but feel a sense of despair. Once again, he would not be able to meet Sehun.

 

“The Queen’s birthday sounds like it would be a really big celebration,” continued Xiumin, seemingly nonchalantly.

 

“Yes,” said Myrrlin longingly. “It’s not every day that one turns 8,000 after all. There is going to be eight nights of festivities and performances in the streets leading up to the actual day. They say that there will be fireworks every night! On the actual night, there’s going to a huge banquet, and everyone’s invited. They say that long dining tables would be set up along all the streets, and the citizens can just come to the tables and feast. They say all sorts of delicacies would be provided.”

 

Lay realised that Myrrlin would be missing the festivities, because of his task to escort Xiumin and Lay to the western coast. Myrrlin was a young elf, and still fun-loving. Missing out on the festivities must be painful for him. Xiumin picked up on this too.

 

“Going to the Queen’s birthday celebration sounds like it would be fun,” said Xiumin casually. “Am I right to say Taniquetil is along the way as we travel towards the western coast? Perhaps we could stop by Taniquetil for a few days, until the Queen’s birthday is over? Lay and I would like to experience the festivities.”

 

“Really?!” Myrrlin perked up visibly at the prospect of being allowed to go to the celebrations after all. Then, he hesitated. “But… Prince Sehun did say I was to bring you directly to the western coast, and not to tarry along the way. But, then again… he did say I was to see to your every need and I suppose if you insisted… …”

 

“We insist,” said Xiumin, smiling winningly at Myrrlin.

 

“Oh, I suppose that’s alright then!” said Myrrlin happily.

 

Lay shot Xiumin a grateful smile. Happiness flooded him at the prospect of being able to see Sehun again. Under the table, Xiumin put a hand on Lay’s knee, and squeezed it reassuringly. Happy now, Lay was finally able to pay attention to the food laid out in front of him. As Lay bit into the fruits and bread laid out in front of him, he noticed that fruit did indeed taste better than the fruits of Middle Earth, as Sehun once told him.

 

The next day, they left the guesthouse at the crack of dawn, after taking their leave of the Mirkwood elves. Myrrlin had already prepared fast horses for them, and they travelled swiftly. The scenery was beautiful. Sehun had always told Lay that Aman was a place of peace, and Lay could feel it, a sense of the wheel of nature flowing harmoniously with everything else.

 

It took them three days’ travel before they saw the Pelori mountain pass loom before them. Tall steep peaks towered before them, sheer rock with puffs of greenery dotting the tops. Wisps of mist weaved through the peaks. One peak stood above them all, the mountain of Taniquetil itself, the snow-capped mountain that was the dwelling place of Manwe, King of the Valar. The Vanyar elves had built their city in the surrounding lower peaks, a reflection of their respect and love for Manwe, their longing to be close to him. As they approached, Lay could make out the elven buildings and structures of the Vanyar city, rope bridges linking one peak to another, spiralling walkways that curled around the mountains, and the towers, bridges and houses that were built so organically on the peaks that they seemed to be extensions of the mountains. This was the city Sehun had grown up in, and Lay thought it was beautiful.

 

Myrrlin led them up one of the winding mountain roads, and they climbed higher and higher up the mountain. As they gained altitude, the view became increasingly more and more beautiful. Eventually, they reached the first major elven settlement, the one nearest to the ground level. Lay could see more on neighbouring peaks, the nearest one connected by a long swaying rope bridge. They dismounted, leaving their horses in the stables of the town, and crossed on single file across the bridge. With a smile, Lay remembered Chanyeol. He would have loved to walk on this bridge. Beneath them, it was a far drop. The valley below was covered in thick and lush vegetation. At this height, the crowns of the trees looked no bigger than mushroom caps.

 

They reached the next elven settlement. It was bigger than the first. The people looked at them as they passed. All Vanyar elves had blond hair and blue eyes, and with Lay’s black hair and black eyes, and Xiumin’s coppery-pink hair and grey-green eyes, it was obvious that they were foreigners. Despite this, the Vanyar elves did not look unfriendly. They merely smiled or nodded politely at Xiumin or Lay as they passed. When they reached the third elven settlement, night had fallen, and Myrrlin suggested that they stopped at the town for the night. He led them to a guest house, and paid for their rooms from a pouch of gold he hung on his belt. He bought Xiumin and Lay the most luxurious suite of rooms, insisting that he was merely carrying out Prince Sehun’s instructions, despite Xiumin’s and Lay’s protests that they would be happy with an ordinary room.

 

Myrrlin happily told them that they would be heading for the highest city of the Vanyar elves, where the palace was. The best festivities would be held there. It would take three more days’ journey, and they would be just in time for the first night of festivities of the Queen’s birthday. Lay and Xiumin wholeheartedly agreed with his plan. The city of the Vanyar elves was a lot bigger than either Lay or Xiumin had anticipated, but if there was any place in the city that Sehun would be, it was likely to be the palace, his home.

 

That night, it was Lay who initiated things with Xiumin, holding him tightly around the neck and kissing him a little more deeply than what an innocent goodnight kiss would require. Xiumin smiled, knowing what Lay wanted, and as usual, he quickly took control, rolling Lay on his back, all the while kissing Lay lovingly.

 

The next morning, Myrrlin met Lay and Xiumin at the dining hall of the guest house, where all the patrons were provided with breakfast. They selected a table at the balcony, and feasted on tea, bread, cheese and fruits, watching the citizens of the elven city walking on the street below. Myrrlin kept up a steady stream of conversation, telling them of what to expect for the festivities to come.

 

Suddenly, there was a flurry of movement on the street below. A troop of elven guard marched in two single files, on each side of the street. In unison, they stopped and turned, lining both sides of the street, spaced at equal intervals from one another. The people stopped walking towards their own various destinations, and gathered at the sides of the street, as if waiting for a procession that was too good to pass up. The other patrons of the guesthouse, and the staff as well, were all crowded at the balcony now, looking down at the street below in anticipation.

 

“What’s going on?” asked Xiumin.

 

“They’re members of the royal elven guard. The line on the right belongs to Prince Kris, and the line on the left belongs to Prince Lu Han. The fact that they are lining the street now means that the two princes are going to pass through soon. I wonder if Prince Sehun would be with them? Prince Sehun has been so busy lately that he’s hardly in the city, but whenever he is, he’s almost always with Prince Lu Han. So if Prince Lu Han’s here, Prince Sehun might be here too,” Myrrlin looked slightly nervous at the prospect. Lay knew he must be worried about bringing Lay and Xiumin here, instead of heeding Prince Sehun’s instructions to bring them to the western coast immediately. “Of course, Prince Sehun’s elven guard isn’t here, so I suppose there’s a possibility that he isn’t with Prince Lu Han today. But then, ever since Prince Sehun became the Grey Wizard, he hardly deploys his elven guard to follow him around anymore. He doesn’t need protection anymore now that he’s a Maia… He deploys his elven guard to oversee the security of the newly arrived Middle Earth elves instead… so I can’t say that Prince Sehun is not coming, just because there aren’t any of his guards here…”

 

Myrrlin was rambling now, more to himself than to either Xiumin or Lay, but his words had Lay’s heartbeat quickening. Was there a possibility that Sehun would be passing through any minute now? Lay stood up, leaning against the side of the balustrade, Xiumin right next to him, watching the bend of the road intently. Everyone else was doing the same. A silence fell as everyone waited in anticipation.

 

Then, a tall figure rounded the bend. Hushed whispers of “Prince Kris” arose all around them. Lay had thought Prince Sehun was the epitome of royalty, but Prince Kris looked even more regal than Sehun ever did. He was even taller than Sehun, and his bearing, his broad shoulders, his cold but beautiful face‒ every bit of him radiated an air of authority. As he strode through the middle of the cleared street, the citizens all knelt before him, right hand over their hearts and their heads bowed. Xiumin and Lay followed suit.

 

A second figure rounded the bend. By process of elimination, Lay knew who he was even before he heard the hushed whispers of “Prince Lu Han”. Prince Lu Han was… pretty. That was the only word for it. He was the prettiest elf that Lay had ever seen, and in general, all elves were pretty. Unlike his brothers, who had more of a cold beauty, Lu Han gave off a vibe of warmth and happiness, something that was rare for an elf. Despite this, the family resemblance in his facial features with Sehun was obvious. He was also the shortest amongst the three brothers. Though the people knelt to him, awarding him the same respect as they did Kris, Lay could tell the people were more relaxed and comfortable with him. Lu Han looked around at everyone as he passed, beaming warmly, and they smiled back at him.

 

Then, a third figure rounded the bend.

 

Lay’s heart nearly stopped.

 

At the same time, the elf that just rounded the bend suddenly stopped abruptly in his tracks. And Lay knew this was because Sehun had already sensed his presence. In Middle Earth, Sehun never had any difficulty picking out Lay’s aura in a multitude of elves, and here in Aman, it was no different.

 

Sehun lifted his head, and across the sea of people, their eyes met. Sehun’s eyes widened. He looked shocked to see Lay. But more than shock, his gaze brimmed with another emotion. The instant Sehun’s eyes met his, Lay felt all his past insecurities fade away. In that moment, he knew that Sehun loved him still, had never stopped loving him all this while. Almost involuntarily, Sehun took a step towards Lay.

 

Then, Sehun’s eyes flicked to Xiumin, who had been standing next to Lay.  Sehun instantly lowered his eyes, looking at the gravel pavement instead of at either Lay or Xiumin. There was so much hurt written on Sehun’s face that Lay felt as if a cold knife had stabbed into his heart. With his head lowered, Sehun strode resolutely past, following in the footsteps of his two older brothers.

 

Lay watched in disbelief as Sehun walked past him. Sehun knew he was here, but Sehun was ignoring him, walking away from him without a single word. Lay was not going to let this happen. He couldn’t let Sehun go just like this.

 

Without pausing to think, Lay launched himself over the balustrade. He landed on the ridge of the roof of the house below him. Deftly, he ran across the ridge, and in a flying leap, he landed neatly and noiselessly in the centre of the street several steps behind Sehun. Though Lay did not look back and heard no sound behind him, he knew that Xiumin was right behind him.

 

In an instant, bows were drawn and arrows were nocked, and every arrow of every single elven guard lining the street were aimed at both Lay and Xiumin. Despite this, Lay was not afraid. He and Xiumin were in the presence of Sehun, and nothing could hurt them. Sehun had stopped. He stood rooted to the ground, his back facing Lay, his head still bowed.

 

“What is the meaning of this?”

 

It was Prince Kris. He had turned back, and was striding purposely towards them. Lu Han had also similarly turned around and was walking towards them, but along the way, he caught sight of Sehun. He was facing Sehun, and he could see the expression on Sehun’s face that Lay could not. Lu Han immediately looked alarmed, and he quickly changed direction and walked towards Sehun instead. This, and the slight shaking of Sehun’s shoulders, and the way Sehun’s head was bowed, told Lay that Sehun must be crying. Lay’s heart ached.

 

Xiumin had sunk to one knee, right hand over his heart, in front of Kris, and he tugged Lay down to his knees as well. Lay hastily did as Xiumin bid, shakily putting his right hand over his heart.

 

“Who are you?” Kris demanded.

 

“My prince, I am Xiumin, son of Alathain and this is Lay, son of Caelar. We are elves from Rivendell in Middle Earth. Lay fought alongside Prince Sehun the Grey against the Ungoliant. I had fallen in battle but was released from the Halls of Mandos because of Prince Sehun. We both owe our lives to Prince Sehun, and would like to speak with him. We meant no disrespect.”

 

Prince Kris’s demeanour changed immediately. His harsh stance melted away, and something akin to gratitude flickered in his eyes. His eyes flicked towards Sehun. Sehun was still standing with his back towards them, his head bowed. Lu Han was standing in front of him, his hands cupping Sehun’s face. Kris’s and Lu Han’s eyes met. Lu Han’s gaze was filled with worry. Kris made a gesture, and all the elven guards instantly lowered their bows.

 

“Arise, my friends. I am sorry for the misunderstanding,” said Kris in a warmer tone. “Xiumin, son of Alathain and Lay, son of Caelar, we welcome you to Aman, and to our city. Lay, you have my gratitude for lending your sword and your bow to my brother in his quest against the Ungoliant. If there is anything House Vanyar can do for either of you, just say the word. If it is within my power, I would personally see that it is done.”

 

“My prince, I would like to speak with Prince Sehun, if you please,” said Lay. It was the only thing he wanted.

 

Kris’s eyes met Lu Han’s again, and Lu Han shook his head.

 

“Our apologies. Sehun is not able to speak with you right now. Let Lu Han and me speak to him. Perhaps he would be willing to speak to you at a later time.”

 

Despair welled up in Lay as he looked at Sehun’s back. He had come so far, and had waited so long. He was so close. Sehun was just a few strides in front of him, and yet, Lay had never felt so distanced from Sehun. Lay could not let it end like this. He could not give up now.

 

_My prince, I have come so far to find you._

 

Lay did not say this out loud, but thought it in his head, knowing that Sehun was reading every thought that ran through his mind.

 

_All these years, I have missed you and longed for you._

_When I am awake, I think of you. When I am asleep, I dream of you._

_I know I already have Xiumin, and I love him. Nothing is going to change that._

_But I love you too. During our quest against the Ungoliant, I have given my heart to you, and even though I have Xiumin back, I cannot take my heart back from you. It is yours, and will always be._

_I belong with you. I cannot stand this separation from you._

_Xiumin knows this, and he understands._

_He is willing that from now onwards, it could be three of us._

_Would you want that? Three of us, together until Dagor Dagorath, and beyond that, into the new world?_

_The three of us, together for all eternity?_

_My prince, I cannot bear the thought of living without you._

_Is it not the same for you?_

_Can you bear living without me?_

_Do you not love me, as I love you?_

_My prince, will you not turn around and look at me?_

 

At last, Sehun turned around and faced Lay. His face was tear-streaked, and the sight of it broke Lay’s heart. He stepped up to Sehun. Sehun was wearing the single bloom of _Uilos_ in his front pocket, the one that Lay had given to him when they were in the tunnels together, just before they fought the balrog. Lay gently ran his fingers over the petals of the small white flower, before he moved his hand up to Sehun’s cheek, wiping away his tears.

 

“My precious Sehun.”

 

Lay leaned up to press his lips against Sehun’s. As his lips touched Sehun’s, it was as if the entire world around them melted away. The crowds, the guards, and even the towering Taniquetil mountain and the entire Vanyar city built on its foothills ceased to exist. The world only consisted of Xiumin behind him, and Sehun in front of him. Lay’s and Sehun’s lips met. Lay pressed down, deepening the kiss.

 

For a heart stopping moment, Sehun did not respond. He merely stood still, unmoving, not reacting. Then, he started to respond, kissing Lay back. As Sehun moved to wrap his arms around him, his hands on Lay’s lower back, drawing him close, Lay knew everything was going to be alright.

 

From now onwards, it was going to him, Xiumin and Sehun. The three of them together, and they were going to be alright.

 

 

THE END

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and I hope you like this story.  
> Chapter 11 will be the epilogue.


	11. Epilogue: The Steps that Lead Home

The moon shone overhead in the cloudless night sky. The sea was calm tonight, and the moon shone a moonlit path on the surface of the waves. On this path of moonlit waves walked Sehun the Grey.

 

Sehun put one foot in front of another on the shimmering water, his immaterial body buoyant and weightless, no more substantial that the water beneath his feet. He followed the beam of moonlight for a long time, striding past countries and continents with ease.

 

As he walked, shadows fled from him. Once, when he was an elf, the shadows would come to him, calling to him, trying to entice him to join them in their unending, purposeless existence. But now, he was the Grey Wizard. As he walked, silver-grey light radiated out from him, and his mere presence was enough to send them scuttling away. The _Kalahui_ gave off its own light too, a starburst of the purest white on his hand as he walked.

 

At last, Sehun reached a wall of towering cliffs that rose up from the sea. For a moment, Sehun stood at the base of the vertical sea cliffs, watching the huge waves crashing against its base. Then, he started to climb. Just like when he walked on water, his weightless body made scaling the cliff face effortless.

 

Sehun climbed up, up, up, until he reached the top. Sehun pulled himself up over the edge and onto flat ground, and found himself standing at the base of a lone tree growing at the very edge of the cliff. Massive and ancient, the tree was a thousand and five hundred years old, older than Sehun. The trunk of the tree was huge, its girth as large as a small house, and it stood proud and tall, almost an extension of the vertical lineation of the cliff that it stood on. Its roots sprawled out beneath it, digging deep into the stony ground, some of them spilling out over the edge of the cliff. Its foliage was thick and full, spread out all around by the tree’s thick and wide branches, extending over the edge of the cliff. It was in the midst of these branches that a tree house stood, an organic wooden structure that was built around the trunk and branches.

 

Warm golden light spilled out from the tree house into the dark night, and Sehun smiled as he looked up upon it. He was home.

 

Before he ascended the branches into the house, Sehun put a hand on the ancient tree first, greeting it, telling it that he had come home. Sehun felt the tree answering back, welcoming him home. It was happy to see Sehun. Sehun asked it how it had been doing while he was gone, and the tree talked its happiness to have ample rainfall and warm abundant sunlight during the day. It talked about the new leaves it had put up, food and water it had stored in its trunk, and of its anticipation of its flowering and fruiting season that was due to come soon. Sehun probed with his mind, and he sensed a slight decaying at the edge of its roots, and a fungal infection on some of its leaves, nothing major. Sehun sang a soft song of healing, chasing away the infection and the rot, making the tree whole. The tree conveyed its thanks to Sehun. It told Sehun that his two lovers were on the side of the treehouse facing the sea, but Sehun already knew this. He had already sensed their presence when he was halfway up the cliff. Nevertheless, Sehun thanked the tree for the information, then leapt up lightly into the lower branches of the tree.

 

Sehun stepped lightly from one branch to another, until he reached the part of the tree where the balcony of the house was. The balcony faced the sea. Below them, the branches of the tree hung beyond the edge of the cliff. Miles and miles of empty air separated where he stood and the sea far below. On the balcony, stood two figures, looking out into the sea.

 

His beloved Xiumin and his precious Lay.

 

Their thoughts were of him. They were watching the sea, eagerly waiting for his arrival home, though they knew fully well that they would not be able to see him walk in. Nevertheless, they were watching as intently as their elven eyes and minds could. Sehun followed their line of sight. They were looking at the moonlit path upon the waves, the same path that Sehun had just been treading on.

 

Sehun walked along the outer side of the balcony balustrade, his weightless body making this feat easy, until he was face to face with his two lovers. Lay was standing the side of the balcony, his hands resting on the top of the railing. Xiumin stood behind him, hugging Lay from behind, his chin resting on Lay’s shoulder. Sehun took a moment to admire them both. In the Unseen Realm, both their auras burnt brightly. When Sehun had first set eyes on Lay, he had been awed by how pure Lay’s spiritual presence was. Sehun had thought it impossible for an elf to have a spiritual presence that pure, so pure it was comparable to an Ainur’s. When he had met Xiumin, Sehun was pleasantly surprised to find that Xiumin’s presence was every bit as pure as Lay’s. There were only two elves like this in the entire world, and these two elves were his.

 

Sehun stood directly in front of his precious Lay. Lay’s hair and eyes were as the dark as the night beyond. In contrast, his pale skin shone under the moonlight. Sehun admired the curve of Lay’s hair, his beautiful eyes, the straight ridge of his nose, his chiselled jawline, and his lips, pink and full. Sehun could not resist. He ghosted his lips over Lay’s.

 

“My prince,” Lay breathed.

 

Sehun was surprised. He hadn’t expected Lay to be able to feel the kiss.

 

“My love, what’s the matter?” Xiumin asked, as Lay started looking around agitatedly.

 

“Sehun’s here. I felt him kiss me.”

 

Puzzled, Xiumin looked around too, but neither of them could see anything. Sehun swung himself over the balustrade, landing neatly in front of Xiumin. He pressed his lips over Xiumin’s too. Xiumin went still immediately.

 

“You felt him too, didn’t you?”

 

Xiumin could not answer Lay, because Sehun had put his arms around him, and was kissing him deeply. Halfway through the kiss, Sehun materialised. He continued kissing Xiumin, hugging Xiumin tightly, moulding Xiumin’s body against his own. When Sehun eventually broke the kiss, Xiumin was breathless. Sehun smiled inwardly. It was not easy to faze Xiumin, but he had just done so.

 

“My beloved Xiumin,” said Sehun in greeting, drinking in the sight of his lover’s grey-green eyes, and coppery-pink hair. No one had eyes and hair in the shades that Xiumin had. He was beautiful.

 

Sehun then let his eyes fall on his other lover.

 

“My precious Lay.”

 

Lay was smiling at him, his dimple showing, pleased beyond measure to have Sehun home again. Sehun swept him up in his arms as well, kissing him thoroughly. Even after the kiss ended, Sehun could not let go of Lay. He held his lover close, breathing in the scent of his hair.

 

“We’ve missed you so much, my prince. We waited every day for you to come home.”

 

“I know. I have missed you too. Both of you.”

 

“Your task, my prince,” said Xiumin. “Did it go well?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Xiumin and Lay waited, but that was all Sehun said, and they did not press further. Sehun knew that they were curious as to where he had gone, and what he had done, but the Valar had not given him leave to speak of it, and so he did not.

 

Xiumin cooked a late night supper for them. Amongst them the three of them, Xiumin was the most skilled at cooking. Like how he approached everything in his life, Xiumin was incredibly meticulous. He monitored the cooking time precisely, and he measured the exact amount of herbs and spices to be added in. Lay could cook too, but to him, as long as the food was cooked long enough to be edible, it was good enough. Food Lay cooked never tasted spectacular, though whenever he did, Sehun and Xiumin always ate whatever he cooked down to the last scrap. Sehun could not cook at all. His princely upbringing meant that he never had to learn, and now that he was a Maia, he had found even less reason to. He sat at the kitchen bar counter, sipping a cup of tea with a slice of lemon that Lay had made for him, watching his lovers as Xiumin cooked and Lay helped, slicing vegetables and handing Xiumin whatever utensils and condiments he requested. Xiumin and Lay worked seamlessly together, their actions perfectly in tune with each other’s, and Sehun liked watching them.

 

Later that night, the three of them lay tangled in bed together. Lay was already fast asleep. He lay in between, facing Sehun, his arms slung over Sehun’s waist, utterly worn out. Sehun supposed that was mostly his fault. Lay had been entered and made to come a total of six times that night. Two of those times were by Xiumin, and the others by Sehun. At one point, both Sehun and Xiumin had entered him at the same time. Sehun had just climaxed inside of Lay, and it should have been Xiumin’s turn, but Sehun couldn’t help it. His precious Lay was too beautiful. Since Sehun had become a Maia, Sehun realised that his sexual appetite had increased too, and he would have wanted to continue through the night, but Lay was exhausted, and in the end, Sehun’s love for Lay won over his sexual desire for him, and Sehun had let Lay go to sleep.

 

Xiumin got out of bed, and came back with a wet washcloth. He cleaned Lay’s entrance carefully, so that Lay could sleep comfortably. Sehun smiled. Xiumin was sweet like that. After Xiumin had wiped Lay down meticulously, Sehun traced his fingers over Lay’s entrance. Lay was stretched wide open, the muscles raw and red. Sehun sang a soft song of healing, coaxing the muscles back to their original state. Xiumin settled down on the other side of Lay, watching with a fond expression on his face. He liked watching when Sehun did that.

 

Xiumin was tired too. He had climaxed two times, after all, inside Lay, and on top of that, had also pleasured Sehun twice using his mouth. He leaned over Lay and planted a goodnight kiss on Sehun’s lips, before settling down to sleep, adjusting himself so that he spooned Lay from the back. Sehun reached over Lay to caress Xiumin, his fingers ghosting over Xiumin’s cheek. Sehun changed his song, singing a well-known elven lullaby now, one of Xiumin’s favourites. His mother had sung it often to him when he was a child. Sehun infused healing magic into this song too, and Sehun was pleased to sense Xiumin’s, and also Lay’s, minds relaxing, their bodies and minds reinvigorated as Sehun’s song washed over them. Xiumin had a contented smile as he drifted off to sleep, and Sehun was glad to see it.

 

Now that his two lovers were fast asleep, Sehun stopped his song, and moved to get out of bed. He had only moved a fraction of an inch, when Lay stirred in his sleep, distressed, subconsciously clinging onto Sehun, tightening his hold on Sehun’s waist. With alarm, Sehun realised that Lay’s mind was going into panic, his dreams flying back to the time when they were on the mountain top after their battle with the Ungoliant, when Sehun had died in Lay’s arms. Sehun was quick to hum the song again, and its healing magic washed over Lay, soothing him. Sehun was satisfied when Lay’s mind calmed down, moving on to serene dreams once again.

 

Sehun knew that he had much to do. The world was at peace now, but the peace would not last. One day, before the end of all things, the first Dark Lord, Morgoth, who had been banished into the void, would come back to Arda, and wage war against the Ainur, and the Children of Illuvator. No one knew the timing of that day. It could happen in ten or twenty ages, or it could happen right now. All the Ainur lived in watchfulness for that day, spending all their time between then and now guarding the world from evil and equipping themselves for the final battle. Sehun was a new Maia, and he still had much to learn. Lady Nienna was constantly teaching him new skills, skills that Sehun knew that he had to work hard on. He needed to get up and practise. He shouldn’t be lying here, doing nothing.

 

But somehow, Sehun could not summon the strength to move. His precious Lay wanted to hold him in his sleep, and at that moment in time, nothing seemed more important to Sehun than to let him.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I love The Lord of the Rings, but I am afraid that I am not a Tolkien scholar. Also, I might have tweaked a few things here and there to suit my plot. Please be kind with me if you spot any discrepancies between The Lord of the Rings canon and this fic.


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